Opposites
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: Everyone has an opposite, a darkness to their light, as Jack Frost is about to learn the hard way. As the Guardians face a new threat even more deadly than Pitch Black, what hope do they have, when even combined, they weren't strong enough to defeat Pitch Black? Leave reviews with any holiday characters you would like to see as villains. M to be safe. At least for now. May earn it.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

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Trouble

Jack watched as the kids below him skated around on the ice rink he had made. He smiled, tossing a snowball back and forth between his hands. It had been a busy ten years since he had become a guardian. He had been going all out letting kids have fun, though at the request of the other guardians, he had kept the pranks and the chaos to a minimum. On the other hand, things had changed a bit since then as well. The kids that could see him had all grown up. And despite their best efforts, they had all stopped being able to see the guardians, even though they still believed. After all, the guardians only worked with children. Jack wasn't sure why they weren't allowed to associate with adults, but he had tried a dozen times, only to be as intangible and invisible as he had once been with children. Then, he had started to notice something else. Again despite those children's best efforts, Jack Frost's existence had never spread like the others' had. As soon as Jamie and his friends grew too old to see Jack, he found himself completely invisible once again.

"Wish you kids could see me," Jack smiled, twirling the bottom of his staff in the air, starting it snowing lightly. "This job's kind of...well...boring really, when I have no one to associate with."

Baby Tooth flew up out of his pocket and landed on his shoulder and he smiled, reaching up and gently running a finger over the top of her head, as she seemed to enjoy him doing.

"True, I've still got you," Jack smiled.

He sighed, standing and lifting off of the roof, drifting into the air and looking around. He kind of wanted to visit the others, Tooth most of all, but he had other towns to bring snow to. He drifted through the air at a leisurely pace, not particularly in any rush. As he flew, he rolled over, Baby Tooth landing on his chest and holding her arms out to the sides as though she were a plane. He smiled. She was always doing stuff like that. Always playing around and trying to lift his spirits. He was grateful. If he hadn't had her around, he'd have probably lost hope.

Jack felt the shift even before they began to fall. He flipped, Baby Tooth taking flight as Jack fell. He tried to focus on summoning the wind but it wouldn't respond. He swore, flipping and sending out a blast of ice magic, a massive pile of snow appearing and softening his landing. Then, as he climbed out of the snow, he looked up into the air, seeing someone floating down toward him. The man was tan, and had flames for hair that were a deep red near his scalp, then faded to orange, then yellow as they reached up the six inches off of his head. They were all burning more or less backward to a point above the back of his head, giving it a sort of slicked back look. On his body, the man wore a red muscle shirt leaving his toned arms exposed, and a pair of orange gym shorts. He had on a pair of red converse high-tops and was holding a red staff shaped exactly like Jack's.

"Hot air is such a pain isn't it?" the man asked as he descended slowly. "So hard to control."

"Who are you?" Jack asked, eyes narrowed and holding his staff ready.

"You can call me Heat Miser," the man smirked, landing in front of Jack and resting his staff on his shoulder. "And don't worry. I'm only hear to talk. For now."

"Okay Heat Miser, what are you doing here?" Jack asked.

"I told you, I came to talk," Heat Miser said.

"Then talk," Jack said. "But make it quick, I've got snow to deliver."

"That's the thing," Heat Miser said. "See, I'm relieving you of your job. you don't have to worry about snow anymore."

"Yeah, that's not happening," Jack said. "Children love the snow. My entire job is to bring the children snow and fun."

"Ah, yes, but, you see, children love _heat_ more," Heat Miser said. "In fact, there are some children that you hardly ever get to that have _never_ seen snow and they _love_ the heat. There are some kids that you bring snow to regularly who love the heat more too. So when you add that up, they love me more, and that means, they don't need you."

"Yes, they do," Jack growled.

"Oh really?" Heat Miser asked. "When was the last time anyone talked to you? Or _didn't_ walk through you?"

"When was the last time they talked to you?" Jack asked. "I doubt anyone even knows your name."

"Probably not," Heat Miser shrugged. "But that's not important. For me, it only matters that the children enjoy a nice _warm_ day."

"Well, that's not going to happen, so you can take a hike now," Jack said. "Go back to Hawaii."

Heat Miser chuckled. "No, I don't think I will. You see, I felt I should offer you the chance to do this nicely, but since you fail to see reason, I'll explain it a little less pleasantly. You believe the guardians are light, correct? And that you can be counted among that number? Well, you're right...about the guardians. But you are not light."

"Excuse me?" Jack asked.

"I am the light," Heat Miser said. "I believe Pitch explained it to you fairly well, yes? How ice connects with darkness perfectly? Well, heat works only with light. Therefor, I am the light, and you are my darkness. So now, you have to disappear."

Jack had heard enough. He moved to fire a bolt of ice magic at Heat Miser, only for Heat Miser to hold his own staff out, heatwaves radiating from his staff, almost instantly melting the snow and ice around him in a circle that spread outward. Jack grit his teeth, shoving his staff forward and sending a blast of ice at Heat Miser, only for it to melt in the air a few feet from its target.

"A blast of ice magic?" Heat Miser laughed. "That's it? That's the best you can do? Oh Jack, that's so sad. And to think you were considered the strongest Guardian. Oh well. Once we deal with the others, I'll show the New Guardians what it really means to be strong."

"New Guardians?" Jack asked. "What do you mean Heat Miser?"

"Oh, please, call me Heat, or Miser," Heat said. "Calling me the whole thing is like me calling you Jack Frost too many times. It's just so formal and unnecessary. Anyway, it doesn't really matter what I mean. Because you're going to die here. And then the children of the world will enjoy a nice long relief from your insipid cold."

Heat pulled his staff back across his body, a fireball forming in the hook, then swung it, hurling the fireball at Jack. Jack shouted in surprise and fear, slamming his staff on the ground and forming a wall of ice between himself and the incoming projectile before hurling himself to the side, the fireball exploding against the ice wall and forming a crater that extended past where Jack had been, the concussion hurling Jack away from the explosion into the side of a tree. Jack shouted in pain as he hit, crashing to the ground before grabbing his staff and slowly starting to push himself up. Heat turned toward him and raised his staff over his head, flames spiraling to life in the hook yet again. This time, when he swung the staff downward, a jet of flames shot out of it at Jack. Jack shouted in effort, swinging his own staff around to aim at Heat, a blast of his ice magic shooting out to meet the flames, only to be instantly melted away to nothing. Jack shouted again, putting everything he had into the blast, but it was still useless. Suddenly, the ground below him opened up, wallowing him, Baby Tooth zipping in after him before the hole closed and the flames exploded against the ground, burning the flower the hole had left behind to ash, along with several trees, igniting more.

"I see," Heat mused. "So they noticed. No matter. We're almost ready. Aren't we gentlemen, and lady?"

Several others stepped out of the trees behind Heat, laughing as Heat tapped his staff on the ground, the fires going out.

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Leave a review.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters. I should warn you, i never read the books so I'm going off of only the movie.

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Explained

Jack tumbled out of the hole and landed in a heap, groaning. After a moment, someone knelt next to him as he started to push himself up, resting a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, seeing Tooth kneeling beside him, face filled with concern.

"Hey Tooth," Frost smiled. "Long time no see."

He pushed himself to his feet and stumbled back a step before sighing and getting his bearings. He recognized the inside of the North Pole almost instantly and looked around, seeing Phil and several other Yetis around them, all armed with a variety of weapons and some with shields. Aside from them, the rest of the Guardians were also present, but that was what worried Jack. Now that he had stopped his head spinning, he could see Tooth's slightly blackened eye, Bunny had an ear hanging limply and was favoring his left leg with several scratches over his torso, Sandy had a cut on his cheek and an arm in a sand sling, and North had bandages around his head, torso, and was standing on crutches, his left leg in a splint.

"What...happened to you all?" Jack asked.

" _They_ did," Bunny said. "The others."

"Others?" Jack asked. "What others?"

"Capital 'O' mate," Bunny said. "Though, I suppose we _did_ forget to mention that, what with being busy trying to stop Pitch and all."

"So explain now," Jack said. "I think it's only fair considering I was just attacked by some freak with fire for hair who was able to completely neutralize my powers."

The others all looked around at each other before Tooth began.

"The Others are..." Tooth trailed off, thinking. "Our darkness."

"Our darkness?" Jack asked.

"We're all made by the Man in the Moon," Bunny explained. "Not us as in the Guardians, in this case, I mean us as in, all of us. Us spirits, or magical creatures, or whatever else ya want to call us. The Man in the Moon created us all. However, even the Man in the Moon can't disrupt the balance of the world. So when he creates one of us, he also has to create a darkness, an opposite for all of us."

"The Others," Jack said.

"That's right," North nodded. "As you've probably guessed, Pitch Black is Sandy's Other. And the man you met is yours."

"And I take it, all of you had a less-than-pleasant run-in with yours as well?" Jack guessed.

"Yes," Tooth nodded. "Well, actually, not Sandy. Pitch is still powerless after the last fight, thank God. Sandy actually met a darkness that we haven't found the light for yet."

"Who?" Jack asked.

Sandy formed a pumpkin carved for halloween over his head.

"A jack-o-lantern?" Jack asked.

"That's right," Tooth nodded. "Jack O'Lantern, or Jack of the Lantern. He was a trickster in life, and as a spirit, he's the same."

"He's a bit of a special case, though," Bunny said.

"How so?" Jack asked.

"Manny did not create him," North said.

"Well then how did he become one of us?" Jack asked.

"In life, Jack O'Lantern was a trickster, and never knew when to stop," Tooth said. "His pranks often led to someone being hurt, or worse. Whenever he wasn't tricking people, he was drinking his life away. One day, his time came, and Death came to claim him. But he was smart, and he tricked Death and took away his scythe, the source of his powers. In order to get his scythe back, Death made Jack O'Lantern immortal. However, once he had, he decided to repay Jack with a prank of his own. He had made Jack immortal, as promised, but as a spirit, like us. Unable to interact with anyone, like you used to be. Then, to add insult to injury, he took Jack's head. Jack was furious, and demanded that he at least be allowed to interact with people, or else he was no better than a ghost, and also demanded to be given a head. So, Death granted him his requests. He granted Jack the ability to interact with mortals again, but only on Halloween. And the head he gave him was a jack-o-lantern, which is where the name comes from. Once he realized that he was cursed with immortality and yet disfigured in a way to ostracize him from society, he grew to hate the world, and Death above all. Then, he just dropped off the map for centuries."

"So, let me get this straight," Jack said, holding his hands up for a moment. "Death is an actual being?"

"That's right," Bunny nodded. "But only those whose time has come up can see him. And only Jack has ever kind of beaten him."

Jack nodded. "So, who are you guys' Others?"

"Mine is the Tooth Fairy from before me," Tooth said. "I'm actually the second. The last is called Pixie. As the Tooth Fairy, she was the exact opposite of me. She was cruel, and and greedy and vain. She was renown for her beauty."

"Well, not total opposites, then," Jack said, then blinked, realizing what he had said and blushing slightly.

Tooth blushed a lot more but smiled. "Anyway, it got to the point where children, and even parents, would stay up to be able to see her, and when they did, she would get mad. Eventually, she lost her mind. She began to kill anyone who saw her and steal all of their teeth, children and adults alike. So the Man in the Moon made me the new Tooth Fairy and a Guardian to stop her and seal her away. Once we had sealed her away, it took me hundreds of years to make people stop being afraid of me. It was a PR nightmare."

"I bet," Jack nodded.

"Mine has similar story," North said. "Original Santa Claus was demon. Real one. Horns, teeth, claws, goat legs, nasty temper. Would eat children and parents on the naughty list. Manny didn't appreciate that. So, he had the Guardians deal with him, then chose me as replacement."

"That's...kind of disturbing, actually," Jack said. "Good incentive to be nice, though. What about you Cotton Tail?"

"Mine's not quite to evil as he is disgruntled," Bunny said. "A long time ago, I handled Easter for only the Americas and Eurasia. Australia was handled by the Easter Bilby."

"What's a bilby?" Jack asked.

"It's like a rabbit but with a pointier nose and a skinny face," Bunny said. "Anyway, he got jealous that I got to work with more continents than him, so he tried to take some of my territory. I was fine with sharing, just made my job easier, and the children still got to have Easter. Except, he kept taking more and more territory. Eventually, I got tired of it and pushed back. We ended up getting into a fight, and I won. He quit his job and I took over Australia too. Problem is, he's hated me ever since, and now he's stronger and nastier than ever."

"I see," Jack nodded. "So...Heat said something about New Guardians, and about taking care of us. I assume that means the Others are trying to wipe us out?"

"Afraid so," North nodded. "And they won't be alone. They'll have an army with them."

"Well, we have an army too," Jack said. "We have the yetis."

"Frost, we don't have an army," Bunny said. "We never have. The yetis are helpful, sure, and my egg statues pack a mean punch, but they're not an army. And Tooth's fairies aren't exactly combat spirits."

"So what, it's just the five of us?" Jack asked. "Well what do they have for an army?"

"Assuming that they leave Pitch where he is, they'll each probably have their own army," Tooth said. "Jack O'Lantern has the ability to turn pumpkins into monsters, and instantly can grow pumpkins anywhere, any time of the year, even in the snow. Pixie has an army of sprites that are about the same size as my fairies, but are fighters. Krampus, North's Other, has abominable snowmen and dark elves."

"Aren't abominable snowmen yetis?" Jack asked.

"Abominable snowmen are corrupted yetis," North said. "They're twice as tall with snow-white hair covering everything but their faces, hands, and feet, and with long claws and sharp teeth. Dark elves are all full-sized people and trained warriors."

"What about Heat?" Jack asked.

"We're not sure," Tooth said. "We had never heard of him until he attacked you. We just know he's your Other."

"Okay, well, it sounds like we're going to need help," Jack said. "Maybe we should recruit other guardians."

North laughed. "We do not recruit Guardians. Manny chooses them."

"How?" Jack asked.

Just then, a shaft of moonlight shone through the window, hitting the Guardian symbol on the floor and it sank, opening as a crystal began to rise. Then, light began to shine from it, spreading outward and beginning to form silhouettes.

"Like that," North said as the silhouettes finished.

One was a girl with long, straight hair reaching her waist, a low-cut dress with a thin strap over each shoulder, detached red sleeves, and fancy-looking shoes with low heels, though it was hard to tell how fancy when you could only see everything in blue. She held a short recurve bow in one hand. The next silhouette was a male with a dress of what looked like feathers, four wings on his back, sandals with attached shinguards, and an average-length bow in his hands. Next was a man in a suit that Jack knew would be green with the button-up shirt's top two buttons undone to reveal his bushy chest hair, a thick bushy beard and messy hair on top of his head, a pair of dress shoes that were likely black, a shamrock sticking out of his breast pocket, and a fedora with a shamrock on the front right side. Next was a woman with long hair, a plain-looking, strapless dress, bare feet, a necklace of what looked to be stones tied into a braid around her neck, and vines wrapped around her hands to her elbows and her bare feet up to her knees. She held a normal-looking walking stick in her right hand The last was an elderly man with a long beard, long messy hair, an elaborately woven cloak, and an ornate staff in his right hand that was topped by an hour glass.

"So, what, these are the new Guardians?" Frost asked.

"That's right," Bunny nodded. "Quite the lineup, too."

"Let me guess," Jack said, looking at them. "Cupid," he pointed to the girl with the low-cut dress, "and Saint Valentine?"

"Other way around," Bunny said. "She's Valentine, and he's Cupid, but he prefers to be called Q."

"Fair enough," Jack nodded. "Obviously that's Saint Patrick. Surprised it doesn't show him with a beer in his hand, since he's always got one. And that's Father Time. I don't recognize her, though."

"She's Mother Nature," Tooth said. "Father Time's wife."

"She's married to Father Time?" Jack asked. "But he's so old."

"I can alter my appearance at will, Jack Frost," a frail voice said behind them, all of them spinning, seeing Father Time and Mother Nature standing behind them.

Father Time wore an extravagant purple robe, and currently had on a purple hat that folded backward and came to a point. Mother Nature had on the same outfit as in her silhouette, except that now they could see that the dress was pure white, and her hair was a dark brown.

"This is the form most expect to see me in, so I adopt this form so as to be easily recognizable," Father Time said.

"Let me guess, you can see the future, so you knew you'd be chosen?" Jack asked.

"Um, actually, he and Mother Nature were Guardians millennia ago," Tooth said. "They're the only two to ever be allowed to retire by the Man in the Moon. We're also not really sure if he created them, or they already existed."

Father Time chuckled. "So you all still wonder about that, do you?"

"Sometimes," Tooth said.

Father Time chuckled again. "To answer your question, Jack Frost, no I can't see the future. But I _can_ see all that is happening at this moment in time."

"I see," Jack nodded. "And can you control time?"

"To an extent," Father Time nodded.

"There's a reason that these two are the single most powerful Guardians that ever lived," North said.

"Good, then they can probably handle the Others on their own," Jack said. "Wait, they don't have Others, do they?"

"They do," Bunny nodded. "Terra Earth, otherwise known as Mother Earth, and Space."

"Space?" Jack asked. "Like Time and Space? I never realized that was quite so literal."

"No one does," Father Time nodded.

"I guess we should go and collect the others, then," Jack said. "Who wants Patrick?"

"Well, I would, but someone's got to go and get Valentine," Bunny said, then added, "and Q."

"And I will give Father Time and Mother Nature a tour," North said.

"I'd go but I don't want to deal with him hitting on me," Tooth said.

Jack sighed, shoulder slumping. "Great. If I come back drunk, I expect one of you to babysit me."

"Here," North said, handing him a pair of snow globes. "Don't let him take them."

"Relax," Jack said. "I can handle one drunk Irishman."

He shook the snow globe and tossed it, opening a portal to the brewery where Saint Patrick lived, and stepped through, the portal closing behind him.

"Yeah, it's not just one," Bunny said. "Maybe someone should have gone with him."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," North said. "He is Jack Frost. And if he is not fine, we have Father Time and Mother Nature to replace him."

"North!" Tooth said.

"What?" North laughed. "Is a joke. Frost will be fine. You will see."

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Leave a review. If you can think of a holiday/folktale/iconic figure that you'd like to see in the story, by all means let me know who and which side you think they should be on.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

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Drunks

Jack stepped out of the portal and stopped, staring ahead of him. All around him, Saint Patricks that barely reached past Jack's knees but who looked to be fully grown age-wise were stumbling around, cheering, laughing, drinking, fighting, and drinking some more. The room in the brewery they were in had the machines to make the beer off to one side, with the spigots seeming to flow endlessly and never being turned off, yet without running out of beer, a bar serving yet more beer off to the right, a sea of miniature drunk green assholes, and the main drunken asshole himself sitting at a table a short distance away, drinking out of a mug almost as big as his head and laughing as the miniature versions of himself got into a brawl around him.

"Oh I'm going to have such a headache after this," Jack groaned.

"Jack my friend!" Patrick called out, a cheer almost instantly ringing out among the miniature versions when they heard the word friend. "Be a good lad and bring me another beer!"

Jack rolled his eyes, making his way over to the bar where a miniature Patrick jumped up onto the bar with another of the gigantic mugs, sloshing it all over the bar and Jack. Jack grit his teeth, picking it up silently and waded through the sea of drunken fools until he had reached Patrick, setting the mug down and sitting across from him.

"Yer a right good lad ya are!" Patrick said, tossing the empty mug aside and tipping the new one up for several seconds before slamming it back down, empty again.

Jack felt like he might blow chunks just by watching the display.

"Have yourself a drink, lad," Patrick said as a third, though probably his hundredth, massive mug was passed from one miniature to the next until it was sitting on the table in front of Patrick. "These leprechauns're a bunch of alright lads. They're a wee bit rowdy and they drink too much but they're a good bunch."

A second mug was suddenly set on the table in front of Jack who sighed, picking it up and taking a swig.

"I didn't come here to drink, Patrick," Jack said. "I came to get your help in a fight."

"Well, ya know us Irish," Patrick grinned widely, spreading his arms wide. "There's nothin' we like better'n a good fight."

Several of the leprechauns cheered.

"Good," Jack nodded. "Then we're heading to the North Pole. By now the rest of the Guardians should have thought of a plan to deal with the Others."

"Beggin' yer parden, but did you just say we're fightin' the Others?" Patrick asked.

"That's right," Jack nodded. "Not all of them. Not really sure how many, to be honest. At least five."

"On second thought, I think we'll be stayin' here and drinkin' instead," Patrick said. "Good luck with yer fight, boyo."

"I'm sorry," Jack said. "I think I forgot to mention, you don't have a choice. The Man in the Moon named you Guardian, so you're coming with me."

"Now wait just a minute there lad," Patrick said. "Ya can't just be comin' into my bar and tellin' me what ta do."

"I'm not," Jack said. "I'm telling you that we need your help, or else all of the Guardians, Tooth, for example, are going to be killed."

Patrick stared at him for a moment before taking a swig. "From what I've heard, Tooth is pretty sweet on you."

Jack was silent for a moment before taking a drink and standing. "Well, I'm sorry that you couldn't join us. I had heard that the Irish never ran away from a fight, and would always stick up for their brothers and friends when they needed help. I'm sorry to see I was wrong. Enjoy your drinking."

He pulled the snow globe out and shook it, tossing it into a clear area and opening the portal to the North Pole, walking through it. Unlike the last, this one stayed open.

"Jack, you're back!" Tooth smiled. "Where's Patrick?"

Jack smirked, holding up three fingers, counting down. Just as the last fell, Patrick stepped through, followed by his swarm of leprechauns As soon as they were through, the portal closed.

"Well played boyo," Patrick said. "Very well played."

"Why thank you," Jack smirked. "Is Bunny back yet?"

"He might be a little while," Tooth said. "He'll be busy flirting with Valentine."

Patrick's head swiveled around. "Who all're we expectin' to come to this little party?"

"Aside from you, Valentine and Q aren't here yet," Tooth said. "And Father Time and Mother Nature are both already here."

"Them too?" Patrick asked, eyes wide. "Who're we expectin' to fight las?"

"At minimum, we have to deal with Pixie, Bilby, Krampus, Jack O'Lantern, and Heat Miser," Jack listed. "My Other. There's a chance they recruit Pitch, Mother Earth, and we had better pray they stay away from Space."

Patrick nodded, eyes wide. "So the situation's pretty bad then?"

"All of us were beaten," Jack said. "Sandy and North have broken limbs, and Bunny was favoring his leg earlier."

"I'd heard yer pretty strong," Patrick said. "Is that why yer not all banged up too lad?"

"I'm banged up," Jack said. "It's just a bruised rib and my pride got crushed. Heat was able to make my abilities completely useless."

Patrick nodded. "Suddenly having Father Time and Mother Nature with us don't seem quite as excessive."

"Just wait," Jack snorted. "We start training tomorrow morning. I'm almost afraid to see how training goes with so many of us injured or broken. North was on crutches."

"Oh I'm sure it'll be fine," Tooth said. "Healing is a combination of nature and time."

"Convenient," Jack said. "Anyway, since I'm done my job, I'm going to go and claim one of the rooms before the leprechauns ruin everything. Plus I need to clean the beer off of my clothes so I don't stink."

He turned, walking through North's workshop to the guest bedrooms, going to the one he usually used and kicking the leprechauns out of it before closing the door and freezing it shut for privacy. He took off his shirt and pants, freezing the beer before sitting down and beginning to chip away at it. It was a trick he had learned about two hundred years ago. It was time-consuming, but it gave him time to think, or a task to keep his mind occupied, depending on the situation, and also was a lot easier than washing your clothes in a washing machine with no money, or in a river and having to risk being naked for any passing spirits to see, since he could also clean his clothes this way on his body, though that was a bit harder. Just as he finished, someone knocked on the door. He stood, putting his sweatshirt and pants back on before thawing and opening the door, finding Tooth standing there.

"North wants to talk to us," Tooth said.

"Sure," Jack nodded, following her to the meeting room, finding that Bunny had returned and was sitting off to the side, looking more than a little displeased.

"There he is," North said, spotting Jack. "Good. Now, we must discus our plan to deal with the Others."

"Why don't we just go and beat them all up while they're still weak?" Q asked, his pink wings stretched out behind him, two upward and two downward.

"Because, Q, they're not weak," Bunny said. "Like I told ya before, all five of us got beat. Only Jack got away without a scratch."

"That's not quite true," Jack said, holding a hand to his side, where there was a dark bruise spreading from his hip to his armpit. "Mine are just easier to hide."

"So then no one got out without a scratch," Bunny said. "Which proves my point even more. We need to train. None of us are strong enough."

"But the longer we wait, the more powerful they get," Valentine said, arms folded under her considerable breasts, pushing them up even more inside of her blood red dress. "We should strike now while we have everyone and they're not at full strength. We can probably even catch them scattered."

"Actually, they've all assembled, just as we have," a young man with silver hair said, Jack only recognizing him as Father Time from his staff and robe. "They're discussing getting more help, but so far, they consist of Heat Miser, Pixie, Easter Bilby, Krampus, Jack O'Lantern, and Scott Highland."

"Dammit," Patrick said. "Of course they got my Other."

"Who's Scott Highland?" Jack asked.

"He's basically Saint Patrick except with less alcohol and more muscle," Tooth said. "They're a pretty even match in a fight, though."

"Well that's something," Jack sighed. "Okay. So, we need to train, but we don't have a whole lot of time, unless you can somehow give us more?"

Father Time shook his head.

"Right," Jack said. "Then we don't have a choice. We'll have to get ourselves as ready as we can in a short amount of time. For now we should get some rest, especially everyone who was injured. Agreed?"

Everyone was silent for a moment before nodding.

"Good," Jack said. "Everyone pick a room and-"

Everyone except North, Tooth, Father Time, and Mother Nature took off instantly, Jack spinning and flying after them, rapidly catching up and slipping into his chosen room, forming a wall of ice in the doorway in time for three leprechauns and Q to slam into it, everyone else scrambling for the other rooms. Jack let the wall of ice crumble into oblivion and shut his door, sighing and sitting down against it, looking around his room. It wasn't decorated, as usual, but he was too tired and in too much pain to deal with it. Despite playing tough and not showing his pain in front of the others, even breathing felt like someone was stabbing him. He also knew that despite what he had said earlier, multiple of his ribs were broken, not bruised. But he couldn't tell the others. They needed all the help they could get.

After a few minutes, he pushed himself up, opening the door and looking down the hallway, seeing Tooth talking with Valentine, only for Valentine to shake her head and close the door. Jack saw Tooth's shoulders sag a little and guessed what had happened. Tooth, not having raced for a room, was left without one, and Valentine had refused to share. He held a hand to his side again, using his magic to numb it before speaking.

"You can stay with me, if you want," Jack said, Tooth looking up at him in surprise before blushing and dropping her gaze.

"I-I wouldn't want to impose," Tooth said.

Jack smiled, stepping out of the room and sealing the doorway with ice as he did, keeping out the leprechauns that he knew were waiting for a chance to kick him out. He walked over to Tooth and held out his free hand.

"Come on," Jack said. "I'll even let you have the bed."

Tooth blushed a little more but nodded, hesitantly setting her hand in his. He turned, walking back to his door where, sure enough, several leprechauns were trying to dig through with pickaxes. Jack cleared his throat and they all scattered, allowing Jack and Tooth to slip inside before Jack froze the door shut.

"Thank you," Tooth said. "I...I really don't want to impose."

"You won't," Jack smiled. "Like I said, you can have the bed. I'll make-"

"Nonono!" Tooth said quickly. "It's fine. You can sleep in the bed."

Jack blinked, blushing slightly before looking away, realizing what she was actually saying. "The bed's yours. I can just make myself a couch. I think. And if not, I can sleep on the ground. I've done it for three hundred years."

Tooth bit her bottom lip, thinking as she sat on the bed, watching Jack struggling to make a couch out of ice. Finally, she stood, catching his hand, staring at it as she felt the cold touch of his skin and he reveled internally at the warmth of hers. He glanced at her, seeing her cheeks practically glowing.

"W-W-We can share," she stammered. I-If that's alright w-with you."

Jack blinked, staring at her, then set his staff aside, his body warming considerably, though still cool to the touch. She guided him back to the bed and she climbed under the covers, Jack laying on top of them, trying to keep as much of her safe from his cold as he could. She set her head on his shoulder, smiling and sighing contentedly. Jack smiled, wrapping his arm around her and rested the other on his stomach, closing his eyes. After a moment, he felt her set her hand on his and he cracked an eye open, glancing at her to see she had her eyes closed and a peaceful smile on her face. He smiled, slipping his hand out from under hers and setting it on top of hers, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. Then, he groaned as Baby Tooth landed on his chest, watching him with an annoyed expression. He smiled as he saw it and chuckled, Tooth opening her eyes and smiling as she saw Baby Tooth.

"Come on now Baby Tooth, don't be that way," Jack smiled. "You got to hang out with me alone for ten years. One night sharing me with Tooth won't kill you."

Baby Tooth continued to glare at him for a moment before sighing. Jack smiled, reaching up and gently brushing his finger over her head, Baby Tooth smiling and pressing her head into his finger before curling into the fetal position on his chest and drifting off to sleep, Jack setting his hand back on Tooth's.

"I think she's jealous," Jack smiled. "She got used to it being just the two of us."

"Just the two of you?" Tooth asked. "What do you mean? You still get to play with the children when you're bringing them snow, right?"

Jack was silent for a while, his thumb absentmindedly brushing over the back of Tooth's hand. "No one's been able to see me since Jamie and his friends got too old. Even Sophie's gotten too old. And now, with Heat actively trying to put me out of business, I'll probably never be seen again."

"That's not true," Tooth said, looking up at him. "We still see you. But you should have said something. We could have helped."

"It doesn't matter anymore," Jack said. "What's done is done. Besides, like you said, I still have all of you."

Tooth smiled, but it faded after a moment. "You could visit, you know. I know you have to do your job too, but you could stop by once in a while."

Jack sighed, the hand wrapped around to rest on her arm gently stroking up and down it, ruffling her feathers before smoothing them back out. "I know. I'm sorry. I thought about it."

"Why didn't you?" Tooth asked.

"I don't know," Jack said. "I guess...I don't know."

Tooth nodded, settling back in. "Well, we should rest."

"Yeah," Jack said. "Good night...Toothiana."

She stared up at him for a moment before smiling. "Goodnight, Jack Overland."

Jack smiled, memories from his life before slowly drifting into his mind, started by hearing his old name. Tooth set her head down, beginning to drift off as he slowly did the same, memories from his human life playing through his mind in place of dreams.

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	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

* * *

Training

Jack winced as something pressed against his side. He clamped his teeth shut against a groan and opened his eyes, staring down at Tooth. She was still asleep, curled up against him with a small smile on her face, her hand still resting under his own. He lifted his hand, reaching out and gripping his staff, channeling his magic through his body to his ribs, numbing them, then set the staff back down. As he set his hand on Tooth's again, she lifted hers, her fingernails dragging across his palm and sending a tingling sensation tearing across his skin and flooding his brain. Then, she slipped her fingers between his, her thumb gently brushing over the side of his index finger, that same tingling once again flying over his skin. He felt a warmth in his chest, a feeling to alien to him that for a moment he was afraid something was wrong. However, the feeling was so comfortable, and so addicting that his fear faded almost instantly.

"Good morning," Tooth smiled, looking up at him.

"Good morning," Jack smiled. "How did you sleep?"

"Better than I can ever remember," Tooth smiled. "Granted, I don't sleep that often, but still. Thank you for letting me stay."

Jack smiled, struggling to form coherent thoughts under the power of her radiant smile. "Anytime. All you have to do is ask."

Tooth smiled even more, a light blush growing in her cheeks, making it even harder for Jack to think. He noticed some of the feathers on the side of her head were messed up, so he reached the arm around her up, gently smoothing them out, Tooth's eyes widening a fraction of an inch before she sighed quietly, leaning almost imperceptibly, and probably involuntarily, leaned her head against his hand. His hand finally slowed to a stop, except for his thumb, which continued to gently stroke her cheek. Her eyes flicked downward and back, not enough to actually be looking at something, just barely enough for Jack to notice. Probably also an involuntary action. As it was when he began to lean in. He had had no intention of it, but he did. And so did she. Jack felt his heart hammering in his chest. The warmth from before was much stronger now, demanding to be noticed.

They were close. Mere inches away, if that. Close enough that he could feel her uneven breath as she exhaled. He could smell her too. Not in the sense of she stunk. She smelled like flowers, and cotton candy, and life, and a hint of pixie sticks. He almost laughed at the last one. And for her part, she was reveling in his smell as well. Fresh snow, and cool fresh air, and everything else that winter should smell like. Her heart was beating even faster than his, and she was struggling to take a breath. Every time she did, she would be met by his scent and her heart would pound even harder than before as she basked in everything that was him. She was sure he'd hear it any second. And they were so close. Less than an inch away.

Baby Tooth suddenly shot up, getting between them and making both jerk their heads back instinctively, the spell both had been under seeming to break, both's cheeks turning crimson instantly. Baby Tooth hugged Jack's face and he sighed, lying on the ground and reaching up, gently rubbing the top of her head.

"Good morning Baby Tooth," Jack said, smiling exasperatedly. "I'm happy to see you too."

"U-Um...I-I should g-go get ready for training!" Tooth stammered, spreading her wings and zipping to the door, which had long since thawed. "S-See you there."

She shot out the door and Jack sighed heavily.

"Really Baby Tooth?" Jack asked as she flew back to his chest. "You couldn't give us another ten seconds?"

Baby Tooth crossed her arms, turning her head away indignantly.

"Why are you so jealous?" Jack asked, picking her up and standing, picking up his staff as he walked to the door. "You're a part of her, aren't you? Shouldn't you _want_ to help her?"

Baby Tooth jabbed his hand with her nose and he yelped, yanking his hand away, making her catch herself with her wings.

"Jeez," Jack said, rubbing the spot she had jabbed. "I don't know why you're so upset, but if that's the way you're going to be then you can find someone else to hang around today."

She covered her mouth, reaching out a hand but he turned, walking away from her to the training room. He knew she was following, of course. He could hear it. But he had already had enough of her attitude and jealousy. And besides that, he missed the warm feeling that had gone out like a light when she interrupted them. It wasn't her fault, of course, he didn't think. But he was annoyed, and disgruntled, and he wanted to be left alone. Finally, they reached the training room, Jack finding it blessedly empty, and walked to the center, gripping his staff tightly and beginning to unleash his pent up frustration and his annoyance, and his years of being alone on the dummies and targets around the room. Everything suffered. Everything was encased in thick layers of ice. One of the targets was completely blasted away, leaving frost on the tip of the stick that had been holding it. Finally, he felt the annoyance and frustration drain away, leaving him feeling more hollow than he thought he should. He sighed, staring at the ground beneath his feet, staff held at his side.

"Jack?" Tooth's voice called out from behind him. "Are...are you okay?"

"Yeah," Jack said. "Just training. My attacks against Heat were stronger and completely useless. I just...don't know how to make my magic stronger."

"I see," Tooth said. "Well, I think maybe Mother Nature can help with that. Some of her abilities work similarly to yours."

"I suppose," Jack said.

"Hey Baby Tooth," Tooth smiled as Baby Tooth flew over, landing on her shoulder and chattering away in her odd language. "Oh you don't have to worry Baby Tooth. You'll see. It'll be fine."

Jack walked over to a punching bag and set his staff aside, turning to the punching bag and beginning to slam his fists into it rapidly, delivering a long string of blows to it that would probably be devastating to a person. Tooth and Baby Tooth watched him assault the punching bag, both staring in surprise. This was the first time Jack had ever used a combat style other than his magic, and they were both shocked to see that his punches seemed to be almost as powerful as his magic could be. After about fifteen minutes, he finally stopped, looking back toward the door to see the others all watching, most surprised, North impressed, and Bunny smirking.

"Are you just going to stand there all day, Cotton Tail, or are you going to challenge me?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I challenge ya," Bunny grinned. "I was just waitin' for ya to pick up that fancy stick of yours."

Jack smirked, turning toward Bunny, leaving the staff where it was. Bunny smirked and charged, hurling a boomerang at Jack, then his second sideways. Jack caught his first and pivoted, smacking the second out of the air before tossing the first over his shoulder. Instantly, he ducked under one of Bunny's fists and stood, drilling an uppercut into his abdomen, lifting him into the air. Bunny flipped planting both feet in Jack's chest and throwing him backward. Jack landed on his back and rolled backward to his feet, lunging and throwing a punch at Bunny. Bunny stepped out of the way and jumped, throwing a kick, only for Jack to duck under it then plant the sole of his foot into Bunny's back, throwing him forward. Bunny landed on his hands and feet and skidded to a stop just as Jack slammed his foot into Bunny's side, throwing him. Bunny landed in a roll, grunting, then pushed himself up, ducking aside from a punch. Then, his own drilled into the right side of Jack's ribs.

The switch was so fast that no one was really sure what happened. Jack screamed in pain, wind blasting into the pair and throwing Bunny away, dragging Jack the other direction before fading, Jack laying on his left side, clutching at his ribs and struggling to breathe through the pain. After a moment, Tooth knelt beside him with his staff.

"You're hurt!" Tooth said, pulling his shirt up and gasping harshly as she saw the bruise. "Oh my god!"

Jack tried to push himself up but pain arced through him again and he collapsed, gasping for breath once again. A moment later, Father Time and Mother Nature knelt beside him, Father Time shaking his head.

"Whatever ribs managed to heal, the punch rebroke," Father Time said.

"Rebroke?" Tooth said. "Jack said his ribs were bruised."

"He lied," Father Time said, he and Mother Nature setting their hands on Jack's side, golden light shining from under their hands. "Most likely he didn't want to worry anyone. His ribs were broken, healed partially last night, then broke again when Bunny punched him. We can fix them, but not entirely. Jack, you're not going to be able to fight for at least a week. Maybe longer. You should have told us about this sooner, Jack Frost."

Jack didn't respond, instead groaning as he felt his bones shift back into place, then itch as they slowly sealed themselves. Finally, the pain and itching began to dull before fading almost entirely, leaving a dull ache in his side that got worse when he moved, though not unbearably. He pushed himself up, holding a hand to his side as he accepted his staff from Tooth, numbing his own side with his magic. Then, he walked over to the side of the room, sitting down and setting his staff down, breaking off a chunk of ice to munch on. Tooth knelt beside him, looking worried.

"Are you okay?" Tooth asked.

"I'm fine," Jack said. "Just a little sore."

"You should have told us you were hurt!" Tooth said. "Why did you hide it?"

"Because we don't have time for me to recover," Jack said.

"Look at North, and Bunny, and Sandy," Tooth said, Jack looking to them, seeing the three of them were, indeed, fully healed, as Bunny's fight with him had proven. "We could have healed you too."

Jack was silent for a while before sighing. "Sorry. I guess...I'm just used to doing everything alone."

"But you're not alone anymore," Tooth said, cupping his cheek. "We're all here for you. I'm here for you. Please. You don't have to be ashamed or afraid to come to me for anything. I will always help you. All you have to do is ask."

Jack smiled before it faded slightly and he lowered his head, staring at the floor. "I...You should get back to training. We're going to need it."

Tooth nodded, hugging him, then stood, floating over to the others, Baby Tooth sitting down on Jack's shoulder, staring at her lap in silence. He reached up, gently brushing a finger over the top of her head.

"I'm sorry for getting angry with you," Jack said. "Forgive me?"

Baby Tooth hugged the side of his head and he smiled, holding a hand to her back in place of hugging her back. After a moment, she pulled away and they watched the others train for a while before Jack pushed himself up, limping outside and sitting in the snow, seeing the moon just above the horizon, not having set yet.

"Hey, it's been a while since you talked to me," Jack said. "I mean, aside from you naming the others as Guardians. It's been...what, three hundred ten years? So...well...I could really use your help. I'm lost. How do we fight the Others? Can we really beat them conventionally? Can...Can I really beat Heat?"

As he had expected, the moon gave him no answers. It simply slowly sank below the horizon as he remained seated in the snow, using it and his magic both to keep his side numb.

"I guess nothing's really changed, huh Baby Tooth?" Jack asked. "He's still ignoring me, as always."

Baby Tooth hugged the side of his head and he held a hand to her back, staring out at the horizon in silence. They didn't have a long time. He knew that much. If nothing else, they needed to do something fairly soon, because halloween was only about a week and a half away, and Jack seriously didn't want any of the Others, in this case Jack O'Lantern, getting any more of an advantage than they already did.

"You shouldn't be sitting alone in the snow," a voice said behind him, Jack looking back and seeing Q. "You'll freeze."

"You're a riot, really," Jack said, touching a finger to the snow and sending ice surging across it. "Truly, I don't know how I'm not rolling on the ground laughing. I'm a spirit of winter, angel boy. I'm _always_ frozen. I couldn't warm up if my life, or anyone else's, depended on it. I'm always as cold as ice."

"Baby Tooth doesn't seem to mind," Q said. "And it's Q, not Angel Boy."

"I don't care," Jack said, waving a hand. "Go train to make kids have crushes or whatever."

Q chuckled. "Now who's making jokes? I don't only work with children, you know."

Jack stared at him, eye wide.

"That's right," Q nodded. "Unlike most of us, I also work with adults. I can literally see people's love. And, to a certain extent, I can...encourage people to fall for one another. People think I make people fall in love, but that's not quite right. I make people feel the desire to spend time together for a short time. Anything beyond that isn't my job."

"What about Valentine?" Jack asked. "What's she do? Also, are her and Bunny..."

"No no," Q chuckled. "He's fond of her, but her heart is incapable of belonging to any one person. You see, I handle the emotional side of love. Valentine is more...physical."

"So sex," Jack said. "Why are you telling me this?"

"No reason," Q shrugged. "Just consider it free education."

"Gee, thanks," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "You're so generous."

Q chuckled. "You should come inside. We're almost done training for the day, and we'll be having a feast once we're done. North said something about a welcoming party."

"Great," Jack sighed. "Whatever. We'll be in in a bit."

Q nodded, heading inside. Jack remained where he was a while longer before pushing himself up, sighing.

"Well Baby Tooth," Jack sighed. "I guess we should head inside, huh? I might be fine, but you'll catch a cold out here."

He stood and walked back inside, stepping inside just in time to catch Tooth as she was about to go outside to find him. She sighed, leaning against him and wrapping her arms around him gently, careful not to put pressure on his ribs.

"We were starting to worry," Tooth said.

"Sorry," Jack said. "I just wanted to use the snow to help numb my side. So, what's this I hear about a feast?"

Tooth smiled, stepping back and slipping her hand into his, guiding him away from the door and through North's Workshop until they reached the dining hall where the yetis were just finishing setting the table for a feast. Tooth and Jack took their seats, the only two available, thanks to the leprechauns filling the rest, being beside each other, which Jack suspected wasn't an accident when he saw the knowing grin on Q's face, and the slightly more concealed on on Valentine's.

"Now that everyone is here," North said, standing. "I would like to formally say, welcome to the new guardians. And I hope you'll all help me in wishing Jack Frost a happy birthday."

"Wait, what?" Jack asked as a yeti set a cake in front of Jack, with the words, "Happy Birthday Jack Frost" in white on the blue icing with snowflakes decorating the border.

"The feast is for you," Tooth smiled. "The Man in the Moon told us that today was the anniversary of the day you became Jack Frost. Since we don't know your actual birthday, we decided to celebrate it today. We thought it might cheer you up."

Jack couldn't help but smile. "Thanks guys."

"Well, what're we waitin' for?" Patrick asked. "Let's eat!"

And just like that, it was a madhouse with leprechauns scrambling for food and the alcohol that had been provided for them, though not enough for them to get drunk, thankfully. Jack smiled, using his staff to grab several platters of food away from them for himself and Tooth, then passing them to everyone else once they were done. Then, they all dug in.

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	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

* * *

Beaten

Jack leaned on the balcony, staring up at the moon. The party had been fun. And it had also lasted for about eight hours, so it was already late. Mother Nature had spent a few hours trying to help Jack strengthen his magic, with partial success, though not nearly enough. Aside from that, the party had been spent eating, laughing, drinking nonalcoholic drinks after the leprechauns drank all the alcohol, and watching the leprechauns brawl. At one point, Jack had gotten to watch Bunny once again hit on, and subsequently strike out with, Valentine, and had found a miraculously plastered Patrick, though Jack wasn't sure how since he hadn't seen Patrick drink more than two normal-sized beers all night, trying to hit on Tooth and had rescued her from him, claiming to be having a toothache he wanted her to check.

A little while later, the four Guardians who had been such for longer than a day had decided to give Jack their gifts. North had given Jack a piece of ice that had been sculpted into a working watch with the wrist strap being splints or ice connected by tiny ice pins, and that Mother Nature claimed to have magically strengthened so that it would never be able to be melted, even by Heat Miser. Bunny had given him an egg, warning him that it was a grenade and that it would cover about a hundred foot blast radius. Sandy had given him a spherical stone that he explained was made from his sand and, with some help translating from Father Time, had explained that if Jack broke the stone, one way or another, it would help him one time before running out of magic, though he didn't say how. Tooth had given him a fairly...unique gift, even compared to the other three. Her gift to him was a rope necklace with the first tooth he had lost tied into the center of the front, and a coupon for a free teeth cleaning. He had laughed when he saw the coupon, the others doing the same, but he really appreciated the necklace, strange as it may seem to the others. He understood. It was his life. It was _him_. It was a reminder of who he was. And it was the best present he could have ever been given.

Baby Tooth landed on his hand and he smiled at her before stopping, seeing her setting a tube of baby teeth in front of him, catching her breath from having carried something that for her must have been incredibly heavy.

"What..." he trailed off as she patted the top of the container, looking up at him with a desperate, nervous, and expectant look on her face.

"Jack, I think Bunny was looking...for..." Tooth stared at the container. "Where did you..." she trailed off again, seeing Baby Tooth giving her a pleading look. "Oh, so then those are...alright Baby Tooth. I think that's a wonderful gift."

"Am I allowed to look at them?" Jack asked, staring at his sister's face, painted forever on the side, just as he remembered her.

"If you want," Tooth said. "I'm not sure what you'll see, but I know you've been wanting to know if your sister was okay after you...well...maybe this will give you closure."

"How much will I see?" Jack asked.

"Everything," Tooth said. "All the way to her death."

Jack nodded and reached out hesitantly. He _had_ wanted to know, but what if it wasn't all he hoped? What if she died young? what if he hadn't really saved her, and the ice where she landed had broken too? Finally, he pressed a finger to the. metal of the container and it opened, memories flooding into his head. His time with her, from the opposite point of view. His death. She had gone to get their mother, and then had lead her back to the pond, but by then it was too late. The family had been shaken by the death for a long while before recovering. His sister had returned to the pond every year on the anniversary and placed candles and flowers by the edge, as a memorial for him. He saw her memories of growing older. Passing him in age and starting a family, though thankfully not the process for doing so, thank God. He watched from his sister's perspective as his niece and nephew grew up, his nephew looking a lot like him and acting about the same, by some miracle, as though God was apologizing to her for taking her brother away. Eventually the inevitable came and he watched as his mother passed away, surrounded by her loving family, then a moment later saw the memory of his father following his mother, though he couldn't tell how much after. Then, Jack watched as his niece and nephew grew up, also passing him in age and had children of their own. Then, finally, he watched as his sister finally passed away, her family, now much larger with her husband's family, children's family, and that family's other children all being there for her in the end.

The memories finally ended and Jack smiled, staring down at the picture of his sister, and at Baby Tooth, who was sitting on the hand holding the tube. "Thank you Baby Tooth. I needed that."

Baby Tooth shook her head, pointing to herself. Jack's brow furrowed in confusion and Baby Tooth chirped something at him and Tooth gasped, covering her mouth. Jack looked at her, but she was too surprised to say anything. Baby Tooth chirped again and he looked back at her, seeing her holding a hand against the picture of his sister, then holding the other hand to her chest. Jack's eyes slowly widened as what she was saying slowly sunk in.

"You're...but...so then..." he stared at her as she smiled and grabbed her, holding her against his chest between his hands in a sort of hug. "But...how? Tooth...did you..."

"No," Tooth said. "Not until she said so a second ago. i had no idea."

Jack smiled, setting Baby Tooth on his shoulder before holding the tube out to Tooth. She accepted it and smiled slightly. "That explains why she stays with you."

Jack nodded. "Yeah it does. And a few other things."

"I need to get these back where they belong," Tooth said. "And I need to make sure the others are doing okay. I should be back in a couple of hours."

Jack nodded and Tooth few away. Jack watched her go before looking down at Baby Tooth, his sister. "We need to talk. Why are you trying to keep me and Tooth apart?"

Baby Tooth pointed at Jack then after Tooth before shaking her head and pointed to herself. Jack's brow furrowed. She definitely wasn't saying that she wanted him to love her, he didn't think. But he wasn't really sure what she _was_ saying.

"You're not trying to tell me you're in love with me, right?" Jack checked, getting a prick on the hand and an unimpressed look coupled with crossed arms as a response. "Just checking," Jack assured her, massaging his hand. "Are you afraid that I'll forget about you if I'm with her?"

Baby Tooth nodded and Jack chuckled.

"That'll never happen," Jack said. "You're my sister. I'll always have time for you. We're family. I promise you, I'll never forget you."

Baby Tooth was silent for a moment before nodding and flying to his shoulder, hugging the side of his neck, Jack resting a hand over her back.

"Oh, how sweet," a voice above said, Jack and Baby Tooth looking up at them, finding Heat floating above them, the snow below them beginning to melt. "A boy and his sister reunited. I'm touched. Truly. It's downright beautiful."

"Baby Tooth, go inside, now," Jack said. "Warn the others."

Baby Tooth took off instantly and Jack flew up level with Heat, noticing Heat was allowing him to fly this time. Jack prepared himself for a fight, but Heat merely chuckled.

"Relax Frost," Heat said. "I'm not here for that. I'm here because I wanted to talk to you. I'm offering you a deal. I'm not all bad. I want the children to be happy. None of us are. Well, okay, Pixie's pretty bad, and Krampus is...well...Krampus, but i have no intention of letting either of them take over. That's why I should thank you for letting us have Tooth."

Jack's eyes widened and he sent a blast of ice at Heat, but he swung his own staff and it melted.

"Clam down," Heat said. "I won't hurt her, and if the others do I'll kill them. Anyway, back to my offer. The children will never believe in you again. I won't allow it. Just as I won't allow you to do your job anymore. But that doesn't mean I want you dead. I'm fine with letting you live. I'll even let you live out eternity with Tooth and your sister, and Tooth can keep her job. I just need you to stop doing your job willingly."

"I've got my own proposal," Jack said. "You die and life continues as it's supposed to."

Heat sighed, shaking his head. "Very well. I suppose Tooth will forgive me. Eventually."

Jack took off, a ball of fire passing under him as he did. Jack retaliated with a blast if his own magic, using what he had learned from Mother Nature this time. Heat swung his staff to melt the magic and the blast thinned, but struck him in the chest, forming a layer of frost. Heat raised an eyebrow, looking down at it as it rapidly melted away before looking back up at Jack, smirking.

"You've improved," Heat smirked. "Alright. This might be a little more fun than last time."

Jack and Heat both took off, streaking rapidly through the air, firing blasts of ice magic and flame at each other rapidly, avoiding each other's attacks as they did. Each time one of Jack's attacks hit the ground or whatever snow they could find, massive spiked ice formations were formed, Beat either blasting or avoiding them. The fight continued like this for minutes, the others gathering on the balcony to watch. Mother Nature moved to join Jack, but before she could, roots erupted out of the ground, wrapping around her hands as she set them on the railing. She looked to the side, seeing a woman with vines wrapping around her arms and legs all the wag to her shoulders and hips bright red hair, and a revealing sleeve and leg-less green body suit hovering off to the side, smirking.

"Now now Nature," the woman said. "This is Jack Frost's fight. If you try to help him, you'll have to go through me first. And we both know how destructive that fight would be, don't we?"

"Damn you Earth," Mother Nature growled, turning her attention back to the fight before them, resigning herself to watch.

Jack flipped over a fireball, hurling a sphere of as much magic power as he could muster in one go as he could at Heat. Heat formed a semi-sphere of flames to block it but the blast punched through, blasting Heat backward, the front of his torso and upper arms and legs frozen. As he fell, he shouted in rage, the ice glowing red for a moment before exploding off of himself, Heat flipping and flying back up at Jack. Jack shot around as fast as he could, pushing his body temperature lower, as Mother Nature had taught him to do in order to strengthen his magic. Ice crystals began to form in the around him as he flew, the wind helping to cool him off still further. He began to fire massive blasts of ice magic at Heat, Heat countering in kind. Heat's blasts still overpowered Jack's when they met, but Heat was being more careful now, dodging more than countering, just in case.

Finally, Heat stopped, holding his staff over him, a gigantic fireball bigger than North's workshop and throwing off heat like a sun forming rapidly above him, hovering. "Enough of this! Let's see how much will you sacrifice for the others!"

Then, he swung his staff, the fireball being launched, not at Jack, but at North's workshop. Jack shouted in fear and rage, streaking down under the fireball and forcing his body temperature lower and lower, a scream of pain, and rage, and effort ripping out of him, the pain being from forcing magic to respond tok fast without training it enough, like straining a muscle too much. Jack swung his own staff, a trail of ice magic as bug around as Jack was tall chasing it before shooting outward and slamming into the fireball, fighting to hold it back, barely succeeding.

Jack pushed harder, screaming in effort, both hands clutching the staff, but the fireball began to slowly descend again. It began to inch its way downward, creeping closer to Jack. As it reached a few meters from Jack, Jack shoved with all he was worth, bits if ice forming on his skin, only to break free and fly along the ice magic beam, melting as they hit the fireball, which stopped moving finally. Then, Heat formed a second fireball, this one barely bigger than a softball, and tossed it at the larger one. Mother Nature shouted a warning and Jack grit his teeth, tears running down his cheeks. Then, he swung his staff sideways, the beam swinging around and blasting into the workshop, a two meter thick coating of ice instantly encasing it in a shell. Then, the smaller fireball met the larger and it exploded, Jack's senses fleeing, leaving pain as his entire existence.

After what felt like forever, Jack's vision began to return slowly, allowing him to see the fires pockmarking the several hundred meter wide, albeit fairly shallow, crater he was lying in now. He could see the workshop just beyond the edge of the crater, the ice falling away, melted from the remaining heat of the explosion. His staff was lying in front of him, and he reached out to it, only for it to turn to ash as he picked it up, Jack feeling as though someone had punched him in the gut. He was powerless. He was finished. He looked up at Heat, who stared down at him before smiling knowingly.

"There," Heat said. "Now you can't do your job. I'll let you live, and you can be with Tooth all you want, once she agrees to the deal, that is." Heat swung his staff, the fires, and the remaining, stifling heat, all disappearing. "Mother Earth, we're leaving."

Mother Earth flew up beside Heat and they turned, flying away quickly. Jack pushed himself up slowly, noticing that his watch was intact, just as Mother Nature had claimed. He managed to regain his feet just as Mother Nature and Father Time landed beside him, beginning to heal him as Bunny landed in front of him, catching him when he started to fall. Baby Tooth landed on his shoulder, hugging his neck, but he found he didn't have the strength to move to respond to it.

"He...has...Tooth," Jack panted, growing more and more tired rapidly as his adrenaline wore off.

"Hush," Mother Nature snapped. "Don't move, don't talk. Let us worry about Tooth after we save you."

After several more minutes, Jack finally felt feeling return slowly, starting with an unbearable itch that he didn't have the strength to scratch. Finally, the two senior guardians finished and they headed back to the workshop.

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	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

* * *

Taken

Tooth lifted her head as the door opened, Heat stepping through and closing it behind himself, smirking widely.

"Are you comfortable?" Heat asked, walking around the massive, extravagantly decorated bedroom complete with gilded furniture, such as a vanity, three wardrobes, couch, several chairs, dressers, and a California king bed.

"Why am I hear?" Tooth demanded. "What did Pixie kidnap me for? What did she do to my fairies?"

"Oh don't worry," Heat smiled. "I gave her strict orders not to kill you or even a single one of your fairies. They're all safe. As for why you're here, I wanted to get the chance to talk to you. You see, you Guardians, you all assume that we're evil, and that all we want is death and destruction. But that's not true at all. Jack O'Lantern is just bitter because Death was a sore loser and chopped his head off. All Bilby wants is to have a fair share of Easter, and to be recognized. Instead, Bunny monopolized everything, and Bilby was forgotten entirely. All I want is for children to be able to enjoy warm weather year-round. Think about it. Every summer, children enjoy things like ice cream, camping, the beach, sun-tanning. They can't do that during the winter. I don't want to hurt the children. I love children. I'm as much a spirit of fun as Jack Frost is, I just prefer it to be warmer, and so do the children."

"That's not true at all," Tooth said. "Children also love winter. Sledding, snowball fights, snow days, Christmas. What do you stand to gain by killing North and the others? Do you have any idea what it will do to children's belief in us when there's no more Christmas? Or Easter?"

"No Christmas?" Heat scoffed. "My dear, I _love_ Christmas. I never, _ever_ intended to take away Christmas. Toys can still be made, and the immortals, what you call spirits, that remain can deliver them easily. The same with Easter Eggs."

"There won't be a Christmas if Krampus takes over," Tooth said.

"Krampus?" Heat recoiled as if slapped. "Haven't you been listening to a thing I've said? I'm the spirit of fun, not killing children. I want to _protect_ the children! Take Pixie for example. She's a selfish, homicidal, bitch. I don't want her to have anything to do with children. I _want you_ to stay the Tooth Fairy. That's why I brought you here. I don't have any intention of allowing Pixie to take over. If need be, we can collect teeth the same way we deliver presents and eggs. And Krampus...He's a demon. Literally. I will _never_ allow him to take control of Christmas. But I can't kill him alone. After all, he's a demon. As for North, I'd happily keep him as the spirit of Christmas, if only I thought he'd go along with it. Bunny too, if he'd share Easter with Bilby again, the way it _should_ have been."

"Bilby?" Tooth asked.

"What, you thought Bilby was evil like Krampus and Pixie?" Heat asked. "No. He may be Bunny's Other, but he's far from evil. He and Bunny were created together as the spirits of Easter. Except, Bilby was given one continent and Bunny was given six. Bilby was jealous and wants to have more of an impact on Easter. He couldn't help it that the _all-knowing_ Man in the Moon thought bunnies were cuter than bilbies. He's jealous and spiteful, sure, but he's not evil. And Scott's not a bad guy. He doesn't even want to take anything from Patrick, or to kill him. He just wants to fight Patrick, and then get trashed out of his mind with him afterward. He's actually a good guy."

"So why are you trying to kill us all?" Tooth asked. "North, Bunny, _Sandy_?"

"Christ, no!" Heat gasped. "There's a reason that I didn't free Pitch when I was gathering Others. As I said, if I thought North or Bunny would go along with us, I'd love to let them live. And Sandy I have nothing but respect and admiration for. He _literally_ never stops working. And I know full well how important good dreams on. _That's_ why I never let Pitch out. I would sooner die myself than allow Pitch to curse children with nothing but nightmares and fear again. Again, if I thought that Sandy would go along with us, I'd happily keep him around. But they won't. None of them. So they need to disappear. And without Sandy around, the Man in the Moon will create another Sand Man. He'll probably make a new Santa Claus too. And don't even begin to think I'm trying to kill Father Time. I'd have to be completely insane to think that's a good idea. As for Mother Nature, I'll let her live if I can without her trying to stop us. But if she tries, then I'll have no choice. But even if she _does_ die, Mother Earth can take her place."

"Aside from not wanting Pixie to be the Tooth Fairy, you haven't explained why I'm here, or why I would ever allow any of this to happen, much less work with you," Tooth said.

"Think about it," Heat said. "You want your friends to live, and I would love to keep them alive. But _I_ can't convince them to side with us. I _need_ more help to destroy Krampus. You can help with that. If you can convince your friends to side with me, I'll happily allow them to live, and even keep their jobs, with the obvious exception of Bunny splitting Easter. And even _that_ will be better for him, because it'll make his job easier. He'll only have to do half the work."

"But in trade off, you have to kill Jack," Tooth said.

"No!" Heat gasped, feigning offended and hurt. "Heavens no. I don't want to kill Jack. I just wanted him to stop making it snow. But now, it's done. As of last night, I successfully put an end to it."

Tooth crumpled to the floor almost instantly, staring at him in shock and disbelief. "No...it can't be...he can't be dead."

"Oh no, he's perfectly alive," Heat said. "He might have a bit of a sore back and a light burn, but he's alive. I simply destroyed his staff. No powers, no winter."

Tooth stared at him, eyes wide.

"I'll even allow you to be with him if you agree to side with us and continue being the Tooth Fairy," Heat said. "Think about it. What I'm asking isn't that unreasonable. All I want is for help destroying Krampus and Pixie, and then for your friends to not kill the rest of us and to make peace with us instead, and make deals to keep it that way. No one, except Krampus and Pixie would have to die, no one would have to fight. You could keep your friends, you could still be with your one true love, everybody wins."

Tooth was silent, staring at her lap in silence. Finally, she lifted her head, staring at him. "You're right. That _doesn't_ sound unreasonable. I honestly can't call you evil if I tried. Just misguided."

Heat smiled.

"However," Tooth continued. "The fact remains that you and the rest of the Others tried to kill me and my friends. _You_ tried to kill _Jack_. _Twice_. You can't expect me to believe that you destroyed Jack's staff without fighting hard enough to kill him. So no. I'll never work with you. My friends will tear your group apart. You will die, and the rest of your 'New Guardians' will all die painfully if they fight against us. And then we'll find a way to restore Jack's powers and the world will return to the way it's supposed to be."

"I see," Heat sighed. "That's too bad. I truly had hoped for a peaceful end to this. No matter. Once we've wiped out the Guardians, along with Pixie and Krampus, we'll take over for them until the Man in the Moon replaces them. Well, except Sandy. He'll be replaced right away, I expect. Don't worry though. I'll keep your precious Jack alive. I'll let him watch as all of the people he loves are killed in front of him and he's powerless to stop it."

"And what about me?" Tooth asked. "Will you kill me too?"

"Oh yes," Heat said. "You'll die. But slowly. Painfully. And with Frost as an audience. I'll make him watch as I rape and torture you until you beg me for death before I, merciful as I am, finally allow you to die."

Tooth stared at him, eyes wide, as he walked out of the room, leaving the door open. A moment later, Scott Highland walked in with Bilby. They pulled her to her feet and sighed.

"I'm sorry Lassie," Scott said. "I really wish ya'd agreed."

They led her through the castle they were in until they reached the dungeon, chaining her in the center of the room so that she was stuck spread-eagle, unable to move her arms or legs at all away from the position. Within a few seconds her muscles were burning from holding the position, but if she stopped standing, her arms would hurt from trying to support her full weight the wrong way. After several minutes of this, the door opened and Pixie walked in, smirking knowingly. She, unlike Tooth, had retained a human appearance mostly, instead gaining only a set of transparent purple butterfly-like wings, mint-green hair falling in waves just past her pale shoulders, and was wearing only her usual outfit of a green one-piece that had a strip reaching up over one of her voluptuous breasts around behind her neck and down over the other breast, then both connecting to the bottom, which was essentially a very, very small pair of panties that did nothing to cover more of her ass than the crack itself.

"Will you look at this," Pixie practically sang, her musical voice filling Tooth with fear, despite the undeniable beauty of both voice and body that Pixie possessed. "A fairy caught in a trap. I guess you won't be needing _THESE_ -" she ripped both of Tooth's wings off, earning a scream of agony instantly, so loud Tooth could taste blood as she began to sob after. "-anymore will you?" Pixie tossed the wings aside and walked to the door. "Don't worry. I'll take _very_ good care of Jack."

The way she moaned out the word "very" left no question about what she was implying, and Tooth found rage searing through her, even managing to briefly block out her agony, allowing Tooth to shout a string of curses at Pixie, yanking at her shackles, only for Pixie to laugh musically and blow her a kiss, walking out. Tooth collapsed, sobbing in agony, and grief, and fear, and hopelessness. It was over. Jack was stronger than her, Sandy, Bunny, and North. They had never really proven it, but they all knew. If Jack's staff had really been destroyed, if he really _was_ powerless, they wouldn't have the power to defeat the Others anymore. Doubt began to flood her mind. Maybe she should have accepted Heat's deal after all. It was too late for Jack to keep doing his job anyway, and maybe it would have been better to just kill Pixie and Krampus and call it a day. The rest of the Others weren't really evil. They were just...unhappy. Right? Maybe the more peaceful option would have been better.

"I'm sorry Jack," Tooth sobbed. "I failed. It's over."

"Not yet."

Tooth's head snapped up, eyes wide, and Jack grinned at her from the door, Tooth not having even noticed it open.

"But...how?" Tooth breathed.

"Well you didn't think I'd leave you here, did you?" Jack asked, hurrying over to her, raising a key to her shackles. "Now, let's get you out of there before it starts."

"What?" Tooth asked just as he unchained both hands and a foot, catching her as her legs gave out.

Then, the castle shook violently, the walls cracking and Jack grinned, freeing her last leg and turning away from her, staying crouched.

"Climb on," Jack said. "We need to go."

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	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

* * *

Escape

"Come on. We need to go."

Tooth climbed onto Jack's back and he sprinted out of the room and down a long stone hallway, taking a winding staircase. He didn't say it, or show it in any way, but Tooth could tell he was dying running so quickly up so many stairs, especially carrying her. Finally, they reached the top and Jack paused, catching his breath and shaking his legs for a moment before shaking his head and continuing to run. They followed the hallway they were in, the castle shaking again as they did.

"What is that?" Tooth asked. "Who's fighting?"

"Who isn't?" Jack snorted. "Mother Nature decided to finally get rid of Mother Earth, that way Mother Earth would stop sending tsunamis at people in an attempt to kill us all for poisoning the planet, Patrick said he wanted to fight Scott to settle some score, the leprechauns are fighting Pixie's army of...well...pixies, Bunny went to find Bilby, though he didn't seem like he was looking for a fight, and North said he was going to try and distract Krampus."

"He can't beat him," Tooth said.

"We know," Jack said. "He's just keeping him busy until Sandy's ready."

"Ready?" Tooth asked, just as they reached a massive open room with suits of armor, weapons, shields, and other apparent trophies from a time long past previously on display, now scattered around the room, along with a horde of miniature Irish struggling to fight a swarm of half-naked, knee-high women with wings. "Oh no."

"Well well, I told Heat it was a distraction," Pixie said, strolling into the room, kicking leprechauns and pixies alike aside. "I guess I should have ripped your legs off as well, shouldn't I have Toothiana?"

Jack felt Tooth begin to tremble and glanced at the door behind Pixie. There was no way they were both getting through. Not with Pixie still here. Jack knelt, setting Tooth on her feet.

"Straight down the next hallway to the end," Jack said. "Last door on the right. Follow the stairway to the end. Q and Valentine will be waiting."

"I'm not leaving you," Tooth said.

Jack smiled back at her. "It's alright. I can still fight without magic."

"But you _can't_ fight _her_ without it!" Tooth said.

Jack smiled, pulling her head down gently and kissing her forehead. "Go."

Then, he turned, lunging and slamming a fist into the side of Pixie's jaw, sending her crashing to the ground as she tripped over the other combatants in the room. Jack was on her in an instant, throwing a punch as Tooth sprinted out of the room, sobbing again. However, Pixie caught his punch and kicked him off, several pixies pinning him down instantly, Pixie sprinting out the door after Tooth.

"Leprechauns!" Jack said. "Stop her!"

They all instantly surged out the door, catching and tripping Pixie, who began to throw them around, struggling to fight so many. As the last left the room, it tackled several of the pixies off of Jack, allowing him to break free, beginning to do to the pixies as Pixie was the leprechauns, except with more success. After several seconds, all of the miniature pixies were either unconscious, had broken wings, or other injuries that stopped them from coming after him and he sprinted out of the room, leaping over a sea of leprechauns and superman-punching Pixie in the face, knocking her out cold. Jack pushed himself up and sprinted down the hallway, the leprechauns swarming after him. He reached the door and threw it open, finding the main stair case of the castle. He sprinted up it, gritting his teeth and forcing his burning legs to continue pumping. As he reached the top, he slowed to a stop at the door, seeing Valentine sitting against the wall, a burn on her side, ruining her dress.

"Valentine!" Jack gasped.

"Heat," Valentine said through gritted teeth, pointing down a path to his right. "Hurry!"

He nodded and turned, sprinting down the hallway, desperate to catch up. Behind him, the leprechauns stayed to try and tend to Valentine's wound. After about three minutes, he reached another massive, open room and slowed to a stop, seeing Q lying on the floor, burned and groaning, Heat sitting in a throne against the wall directly in front of Jack and Tooth on the ground beside the throne, her back coated in blood from where her wings had been ripped off and Heat's feet on top of her head, legs crossed.

"Get...your feet...off of her," Jack snarled.

"Or what?" Heat snorted. "You have no powers, remember? What are you going to do, wave at me?"

Jack stepped forward, picking up Q's fallen bow.

"Good luck finding any arrows," Heat snorted. "I burned them all."

Jack grit his teeth, glaring at Heat, tossing the bow to Q, who picked it up. Then, he reached into his pocket, pulling out Sandy's sphere. Before he could consider breaking it, however, the castle lurched violently and he was thrown off of his feet, Heat being flung from his throne and Tooth being thrown to the ground as well.

"What the hell was that!?" Heat shouted.

Just then, the floor began to crack. Jack shouted in surprise and fear, lunging for Tooth and catching her hand just as the floor collapsed. They began to fall and Jack pulled Tooth tight against him.

"Hold onto me!" Jack shouted, Tooth doing exactly that.

He looked around, spotting the sphere and reached out for it, falling short. He grit his teeth, feeling around himself. Nothing. He looked down, seeing the floor of the dungeon a hundred feet below and rushing up to meet them. Then, suddenly, Baby Tooth shot down from above, grabbing the sphere and flying it to him, grabbing onto his hood. He hurled the sphere downward and it smashed on the ground below them. Then, a massive tidal wave of golden dream sand shot up at them, catching them before beginning to reshape itself, shooting up out of the the castle as it did, reaching the air before the sand that had covered them retracted, allowing them to see it had become a massive sand dragon. Jack sighed, looking down and saw yetis hurling massive boulders at the castle, causing the shaking and the collapses, though it was slowed by abominable snowmen knocking the boulders out of the air with their hands, feet, and boulders of their own. On top of one of the towers, North was fighting Krampus, barely fending off his claws using his own swords. On another tower, Bunny was fighting Bilby. Bilby was a solid dark grey with a pointed nose and stood a few inches taller than Bunny and also had a good deal more muscle. he fought using a kukri machete and a club formed from a stock with a solid ball of some kind of would on the end of it. Bunny was mostly avoiding the weapons, Bilby avoiding his boomerangs any time they flew at him.

"Where are the others?" Tooth asked.

Just then, Q flew up beside them holding Valentine.

"Did you see Sandy, or Patrick?" Jack asked. "The leprechauns?"

"Sandy isn't here yet," Q said. "The leprechauns made it out, and Patrick and Scott are over there."

Jack turned, looking away from the castle to where Scott, a massive, heavily muscled man in a dark grey shirt, a plaid kilt with a strap over one shoulder from the opposite side of his waist, and whatever the plaid beret-looking hat was called, along with a bushy orange beard to his waist and messy orange hair also hanging to his waist, was in the middle of a brawl with Patrick. Jack looked up, seeing Mother Nature and Mother Earth high in the clouds hurling lightning bolts at each other.

"Where's Father Time?" Tooth asked.

"He stayed out of the fight so that he wouldn't draw in Space," Jack said.

Tooth nodded just as the center of the castle all but exploded skyward, Heat slowly rising from it.

"I was really hoping he'd die," Jack said.

"I hate to add to your list of concerns, but there's sand falling off the bottom of your ride," Q said. "I have to land. You should too."

Jack nodded and the dragon flew to the ground upon mental command. Jack dropped to the ground, turning and catching Tooth as she slid off the dragon, which promptly fell flat. Jack turned back to Heat as he swung his staff, a fireball blasting the towers that held both of the fighting pairs. Only Krampus didn't fall, however, a cloud of Tooth's fairies caught the other three, flying them over to Jack and the others and setting them down gently.

"Oi, why'd you save me?" Bilby demanded.

"Because you're not evil," Tooth said. "You just wanted your job back."

"Like I said," Bunny said. "We're not the monsters Heat wanted you to believe. I didn't come here to fight you."

"I hope Pixie's dead," Jack said. "How is Krampus flying?"

"Demon," North said, breathing hard. "Lots of things he can do that he shouldn't."

"What do we do about Heat?" Jack asked.

Just then, Mother Earth flew down into the rubble and returned with an unconscious, though most likely alive, Pixie. Mother Nature landed beside them, trying to catch her breath and holding a hand to a burn on her shoulder.

"We need to hold out," Mother Nature said. "Sandy should be about five minutes away."

"I seriously doubt we have five minutes," Jack said, watching as a massive fireball began to grow over Heat, as it had at the end of their last fight.

"That's it," Bunny said. "We're finished."

"Jack," Tooth said, staring at the ground. "I...I l-"

He gently pulled her head down and kissed her forehead again, as he had before, making her stop talking. "Save it. You can tell me when we get out of this alive."

She stared at him before forcing a smile and nodding, tears running down her cheeks. She hugged him and he hugged her back. Then, just as the heat of the fireball began to become painful for them all, a sudden blast of cold hit them all like a slap to the face and darkness fell over them as the explosion stabbed white-hot knives into their ears. But Jack felt no pain. He opened his eyes, blinking as he felt something cold pressing against his left arm from his shoulder to the back of his hand. He looked down and stared, open-mouthed, at the massive half-dome-shaped shield spreading from his watch.

"It worked!" North breathed. "I can't believe it actually worked."

"What did you...do?" Jack asked.

"The watch was designed to form a shield one time in reaction to Heat's fire," North said. "But after the last time you fought and nothing happened, I thought the watch didn't work."

Jack pulled away from the wall, the watch detaching, still ticking away, but leaving the ice from the shield behind. He grinned, then stepped out from under the shield and set his hand on the edge as he turned to look at Heat. A series of snaps and crackles met him as his hand found the ice and he jerked his hand away, staring at the thin extra layer of ice over the shield. He stared at it, then knelt, placing his hand to the ground, frost spreading from his hand.

"Mother Nature, what is this?" Jack asked. "Do you know?"

"Of course I do," Mother Nature said. "You're a Winter Spirit. Not a Stick Spirit. Or a Tree Spirit. The Man in the Moon didn't give you the staff because it was the source of your powers, it was just a way for you to control them until you learned how to use them properly."

"Why am I just able to do it now?" Jack asked.

"In immortal time, you're still barely able to be considered a toddler," Mother Nature chuckled. "I'm surprised you can."

"Are you quite finished?" Heat asked, floating lower, hovering about twenty feet off the ground, Krampus now standing below him with Mother Earth, Pixie lying behind them.

"Yes," Jack said, focusing, the wind picking him up level with Heat as his body temperature began to drop rapidly. "I'm finished."

He swung a hand forward and a massive blast of ice magic shot out of it, exploding against the ground where Krampus, Pixie, and Mother Earth had been, forming a massive spiked ice formation, the three having barely gotten clear of it, Pixie only thanks to Mother Earth. Heat watched Jack as Jack turned to him, extending a hand and sending a massive beam of ice magic flying at Heat. Heat held his staff out, a semi-sphere of flames forming and freezing solid, but blocking the ice magic before falling away and shattering.

"Are we finally done with staves?" Heat asked. "Thank God. I can't tell you how annoying this thing is."

His staff suddenly erupted into flames, burning away before the flames condensed into a sphere in his hand. Jack narrowed his eyes before swiping a hand, several sharpened disks of ice forming and launching themselves at Heat instantly as Jack took off. Heat did the same, both hurling blasts of flame and ice magic at each other, Jack also using the blasts of ice magic to keep Krampus and Mother Earth from being able to attack the others. Finally, he turned, launching a powerful blast as Heat, only for Heat to send a jet of flame at Jack, the flames once again melting through Jack's magic, as though nothing had changed.

"I told you Jack," Heat shouted, chasing Jack now, hurling fireballs at him. "As long as you're still throwing around blasts of ice magic, you're never going to be able to beat me!"

Just as he pulled his hand back to throw another fireball, a whip made of dream sand wrapped around his wrist. Heat managed to gasp before the whip swung him around, smashing him into Krampus before the clouds above suddenly came alive, turning gold before dream sand began to fall from them in a massive cloud of its own. Jack flew back to the others, landing beside Tooth just as dream sand in the form of a ship landed before them and they all scrambled onto it, Sandy taking off again as the dream sand began to form into the dreams of children from all around the world, dragons, knights, dinosaurs, birds, manta rays, dancers, even a colony of mice. The dreams all swarmed at Heat and his remaining three allies, Sandy stopping long enough to pick up both Patrick and Scott before taking off again, leaving the battlefield behind quickly.

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	8. Chapter 8

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

* * *

Home

Jack collapsed onto the couch and groaned. His entire body hurt from trying to use too much magic too fast, especially without his stick. It had been about two days since they had rescued Tooth, who was still recovering and regrowing her wings, and they hadn't heard anything from Heat, Krampus, Pixie, or Mother Earth.

"You alright?" a blessedly familiar voice asked. "You sound like you're dying."

Jack looked back at Tooth as she sat down on the couch beside his legs. He smiled, glad to see she was up and about again. He sat up, hugging her, and she hugged him back instantly.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Jack smiled.

"I could say the same to you," Tooth said. "He told me that he had fought you and that you wouldn't be doing your job anymore. I was terrified that I'd lost you."

Jack's breath caught in his throat for a half second before he smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."

Tooth smiled, looking up at him with her amethyst eyes that Jack found himself getting lost in instantly. He could see something hidden behind her eyes, like she wanted to say something, but was afraid. He wanted to ask, but as he tried to focus enough to speak, it occurred to him that they were dangerously close again, and once again getting closer. He could smell her again. Flowers, and pixie sticks, and life. He found he was staring at her lips, and somewhere in his mind wondering if they were as soft as they looked, or would taste as good as she smelled, and he looked back up to her eyes, catching the barest of movements as her own eyes flicked back up to his. In that moment, he saw Tooth, the real Tooth. No walls, no pretenses of a bubbly, optimistic personality. In her eyes, for the barest of fractions of a second, he could see the hurt of being alone, even with all of her fairies, and the hurt of watching countless generations grow old and die as she lived on. Of being too afraid to watch more pass her by to leave her palace. And he saw himself. He saw how much she truly cared about him.

Had he been resisting in any way, his will would have broken then. He leaned forward, capturing her lips with his own, sighing in relief as he felt her arms slip around his neck as she kissed him back. She shifted into his lap, one hand curling into his hair as the other grasped at the back of his neck, holding him tight, as though afraid he'd leave. Jack's own hands were on the small of her back, also holding her against him as he poured out everything he had, baring everything he had to her. How truly grateful he was that she had accepted him wholly when he had first become a guardian, how afraid he had been when he had found out she had been kidnapped, how relieved he was that she was back. And most importantly how much he loved her. Thinking back on it, he wouldn't be able to point to exactly when it had started. But he _could_ point to when he had known. The moment he saw her in her crumbling palace, with the children of the world having lost faith in her, leaving her doomed to share his fate. He'd have given anything to shield her from that, memories or no.

Finally, Tooth pulled back, taking a shuddering breath. Jack inhaled as well, opening his mouth to speak only for Tooth to capture his lips again, accidentally knocking him onto his back as she did. He chuckled into the kiss, shifting slightly to make himself more comfortable before pulling Tooth's body tighter against his own, Tooth happily pressing closer. After a moment, he felt her tongue trail over his bottom lip. Suddenly, reality caught up to him, or at least, the reality that it was his first kiss and, while instinct had been working well so far, he had no idea what he was doing. Unfortunately for him, he hesitated a moment too long, and Tooth pulled back, staring down at him worriedly.

"I'm sorry," Tooth said. "I'm moving to quickly. I'm so sorry. I wan't thinking and-"

He cut her off with a quick kiss before shaking his head, blushing bright blue, as he was incapable of being red anymore, and swallowed hard. "It's not that. I just...um...I've never...actually...kissed anyone before."

Tooth stared at him before biting her lip to try to keep from laughing, a slight snort managing to slip out despite her best efforts. He blinked, eyes widening slightly before looking to the side, ashamed.

"No!" Tooth said. "No. I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I'm sorry. I was laughing because...I was so afraid I had done something wrong, but really you were just worried because it was your first. I was laughing because I was relieved."

Jack looked back up at her, smiling slightly and nodding. Tooth smiled, settling back down and kissing him again, more slowly and gently this time. After a few minutes, Jack heard the door behind Tooth open and cracked an eye open, seeing a surprised but grinning Bunny standing in the doorway. He flicked a finger at him and sent a small burst of ice magic at him, freezing a tuft of fur on his chest stiff and Bunny raised his hands placatingly, stepping back through the door, pulling the door closed. Jack closed his eye, returning his attention to the most important thing in his life. Finally, Jack felt Tooth's tongue hesitantly asking for permission again. He hesitated for a moment before granting her tongue access. She smiled into the kiss, her tongue slipping into his mouth and finding his own, guiding it into dancing with her own. Jack felt his head begin to spin rather quickly as they continued, subconsciously holding Tooth a little tighter, as though doing so would keep him from feeling like he was sailing through the air half asleep.

Then, the door banged open and Tooth jerked back, spinning, eyes wide with surprise, seeing Bilby stomp past, a disgruntled expression on his face and his arms folded over his chest as he passed through the room and into the kitchen.

"Why is there nothing to drink here but goddamn _eggnog_!?" Bilby demanded, slamming the refrigerator door before stomping back through the room and slamming the door behind him.

Jack and Tooth both stared at the door in silence for a few minutes before bursting into fits of laughter. For the entirety of the time he had been there, Bilby had been going back and forth between complaining about them saving him, to complaining about Bunny in general, to complaining about the food or drink selection. However, he was acting more like a moody child, and they knew he really _was_ grateful for them having saved his life, so they simply found his temper tantrums funny.

Tooth set her head back down as her laughter tapered off, sighing and closing her eyes, smiling. "Thank you. Thank you for everything. For keeping the children believing in me, for always being there for me. Thank you for saving me from that castle."

"I'll always be there for you," Jack said. "All you need to do is ask. I'm just sorry that I got there too late."

"You didn't," Tooth said. "You saved me. And my wings grow back. There wasn't any permanent damage."

Jack smiled and nodded.

"But if you ever do something as stupid as sneaking into Heat's castle without any backup or powers again, I'll break every bone in your body," Tooth said, narrowing her eyes as her feathers stood up a bit.

"I won't if you don't get kidnapped," Jack said, gently brushing the backs of his fingers over her cheek before cupping her face, kissing her. "Deal?"

"Deal," Tooth said, capturing his lips.

Within fifteen seconds, Patrick, Scott, and North all walked in, drunk and laughing at one joke or another. Again Tooth pulled away quickly, this time pushing herself up and standing. Jack sighed, draping an arm over his eyes.

"Jack, come, drink with us!" North said.

"Actually, I think I'm going to have to take a solid pass on that," Jack said. "You or Patrick individually are bad enough. I'm not drinking with both of you, plus Scott. I think I'm going to go to bed. I'm still exhausted from fighting Heat."

North sighed and nodded, all three of the drunk spirits wishing him a good rest, Tooth following him out of the room, slipping her hand into his. He smiled, squeezing her hand lightly, as they headed to the room they were still sharing, laying down and both quickly drifting off to sleep for a nap.

* * *

"Look, I'm not saying that I _won't_ give ya the job back," Bunny said. "All I'm saying is, it's been how many years since I took over? It's going to take time to get ya recognized again. You've gotta be patient."

"I've been invisible to the world for a hundred years!" Bilby snapped.

"And Jack went for three hundred," Bunny said. "And unlike you, who had other spirits to keep ya company in the mean time, Jack had no one. Literally. He would see Sandy at night, but he knew better than to interrupt Sandy's work, he would see Tooth's fairies, but they never had time to stop and chat, and even if they did he couldn't understand them. Jack had literally no one. You think _you're_ alone? I get that it sucks, and I get that ya want to be recognized again. But this kind of stuff can't happen in a single Easter. It'll take a few years, maybe as much as a few generations before people really start to believe in ya again. But if you can be patient for that long, I will gladly split the work fifty fifty this time."

Bilby stared at him before sighing. He nodded, shaking Bunny's extended hand. Bunny nodded as well and smiled.

"Good," Bunny said. "Now, I'm gonna go and get some shuteye. Who knows when those assholes will attack again."

Bilby nodded and they both headed to the rooms they had been given, North having turned a storage room into a bedroom for their two newest guests.

* * *

Jack inhaled slowly, smiling to himself as he breathed in Tooth's scent. He could live for all eternity, and never get tired of waking up with her in his arms. But he couldn't have that. And he knew that. His job required he travel. Hers required she be at the palace and work for days or months on end without rest. Once they had dealt with Heat and the others, and things had settled down, He knew that things would all go back to the way they were. And he wouldn't be able to see her more often than once every few months, at best.

"I asked the Man in the Moon to make a new Tooth Fairy," Tooth suddenly said, Jack staring down at her, not having even realized she was awake, let alone knowing where this was coming from.

"What?" Jack asked. "Why would you do that? What would you do if you weren't the Tooth Fairy?"

"I'd be with you," Tooth said, staring up at him, Jack falling still and silent, mouth slightly open and eyes wide. "With a new Tooth Fairy, the children would still believe, and I could still be with you. We could wake up like this every morning. We would never have to say goodbye."

Jack stared at her, feeling his eyes start to water. She had been thinking the same thing as him. He leaned forward, kissing her, and desperately willing her to feel how much he loved her, and how much he appreciated her choosing him over her job. After a few moments, he pulled back, smiling and wiping his eyes.

"Tooth, you can't quit your job," Jack said. "As much as I want to be with you, you can't quit. And we're not saying goodbye. Ever. I can spread winter and still be home in time for dinner. And who knows. With enough training, maybe I'll learn to work from home."

Tooth stared at him before smiling and nodded, reaching up and kissing him. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too," Jack smiled.

She kissed him again and he sighed, pulling her a little closer so that neither had to reach far to the other. She tangled her left hand in his hair, the other resting on his chest. After a few minutes, Jack trailed his tongue across her lower lip, Tooth's meeting his before he had even finished. Their tongues began to dance and Jack's head again began to spin. Jack's hands gripped Tooth a little tighter out of instinct, but this time, Tooth smiled as he did. Then, as he began to pull away to breath, she captured his lower lip, biting down on it lightly and running her tongue over it as she sucked on it gently before letting it slip back out, dragging against her teeth, the whole thing lasting maybe a second but sending Jack's head spinning so far beyond cloud nine that he wasn't sure he could tell the difference between a second and a year anymore. She pulled back, smiling as she saw the dazed look in his eyes as he struggled to bring himself back under control, his breathing haphazard and irregular. She smiled, kissing him again, slowly, and felt him kiss her back. However, a moment later, he captured her lip, repeating what she had done, pulling a shaky breath from her lips before releasing her.

Almost instantly, she crushed her lips to his again, but this time the kiss was different, hungry and heated, sending Jack's world spinning faster by the second, yet somehow still capturing his full attention, allowing him to return all of the passion and desperation of the kiss in kind. Tooth's right hand balled itself in his shirt and Jack felt her hips rock slightly against him, his stomach coming alive with butterflies, though he ignored them, focusing on Tooth. After a few more seconds, Jack's hands began to very slowly and cautiously slide down Tooth's back, Jack feeling the feathers on her back quivering slightly as he ghosted over them. Finally, his hands reached her rear and her began to gently knead and squeeze it, inadvertently also making her hips' slow rocking a little harder and faster. Tooth pulled back from the kiss, stuttering out a breath before gasping another breath in, pressing her hips tighter against his own as he reached up to capture her lips again, guiding her back down so he was lying down again rather than a few inches off the bed. She whimpered slightly, pressing herself into him harder, both hands on his chest, pawing at him lightly as she began to slowly rock against him faster, his hands beginning to work her rear more confidently, earning a slightly louder whimper from her as he did. Then, suddenly, a series of shrill chirps went off to the side and they broke apart, Tooth rolling off of him, both blushing scarlet.

"B-Baby Tooth!" Tooth stammered. "U-Um...W-When did you g-get here?"

Baby Tooth put her hands on her hips and chirped at Tooth, who blushed even darker.

"S-Sorry," Tooth stammered, then glanced at Jack. "I-i'm s-sorry Jack. I _really_ got carried away. I-I shouldn't have tried to push you. I didn't mean to try to rush you or-"

Jack kissed her before pulling back. "It's alright Tooth. At no point did I want to stop."

Tooth smiled slightly and rested her head on his shoulder. "I suppose we should get up now."

"Probably," Jack agreed. "I'm a little hungry."

"Well, our options are either cookies or eggnog," Tooth smiled. "Maybe milk."

"That'll do," Jack smiled.

She nodded, standing and taking his hand as he stood, Jack scooping up Baby Tooth and setting her on his shoulder. They walked to the kitchen and Tooth hopped up to sit on the counter as Jack opened the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk, pouring them each a glass before putting it back and closing the door, grabbing a tray of cookies from beside it and getting two for himself and Tooth and one for Baby Tooth. They all ate in relative silence, Jack leaning back against the table in front of Tooth as he ate. After a few minutes, they had all finished the tray and Jack found he was still starving.

"I kind of wish we could have another birthday party," Jack said. "I'm still hungry."

"Same," Tooth smiled, nodding.

"I just thought, who's collecting teeth right now?" Jack asked.

"Pixie," Tooth said, worry and sorrow on her face. "I hope all of the children are safe."

"I'm sure they're fine," Jack smiled. "Come on. Let's see if we can convince North to throw a party. He's probably drunk enough."

Tooth grinned knowingly and nodded, hopping off of the counter and slipping her hand into his, Baby Tooth flying over to land on his shoulder as they headed for the common room where they had left North, Patrick, and Scott.

* * *

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	9. Chapter 9

I do not own Rise of the Guardians or any of the characters.

* * *

Together

Jack drifted through the crowd quickly, scanning it for Tooth as he did. North had been all for another party. To the point that he had actually ended up inviting pretty much every spirit and immortal he could think of. He had even invited the Grinch, a particularly unpleasant, green-furred immortal that had once spent his life hating christmas and trying to ruin it for the town he lived beside, until Jack Frost had spent an entire winter keeping him happy. The grinch still had a bit of an annoying personality, and his sense of humor tended to border on rude or degrading, but the others managed to ignore that in order to keep him happy, and for his part, he tried his best to stay out of trouble and not cause anyone to get too angry.

The only problem Jack had with such a large party was exactly what had happened. Tooth's popularity, particularly with most of the male immortals, had caused her to be mobbed by them, all asking her on dates, and one even asking for her hand in marriage. In the end, the girls, barring a couple of lesbians who had tried to ask her as well, had taken her to protect her, and now Jack couldn't find her. He was starting to get a little annoyed at that, however, he wasn't overly surprised. He had expected it as soon as the first of the guests had arrived.

"Looking for someone?" Sam, the spirit of freedom, and also a generally disgruntled alcoholic with a short fuse of a temper, asked, stepping out of the crowd, smirking knowingly.

"Do you have to ask?" Jack asked. "You're usually spying on everyone enough that you always know everyone else's business."

"Touché," Sam said. "Last I saw her, she was over near the balcony with Lady Britannia and a few of the other girls."

Jack nodded, turning and heading that way, weaving his way through the crowd of immortals, actually seeing a lot he didn't recognize at all, before making it to the balcony, finding that the only person there was Q, who was holding a half-empty liquor bottle. He took it instantly, hurling it off the balcony and Q shot it, shattering it and smiling slightly, still obviously depressed.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked.

"My job," Q said. "Hell, my life."

"Meaning?" Jack asked.

"I give people love," Q said. "My entire existence is devoted to helping people find love. Giving the one thing I can never have."

"What do you mean?" Jack asked. "Who are you in love with?"

Q snorted. "Her."

He looked back at the party and Jack followed his gaze, finding a pair of female immortals in one corner kissing, Valentine pressing herself against one of them from behind. One of the two was a blonde with wavy hair reaching a little past her shoulders, a strapless white dress that hung to about halfway down her thighs, a wreathe of flowers on her head, flowers woven into her hair seemingly at random, and the other immortal's right hand currently up her skirt, the immortal muffling herself by kissing the immortal. The immortal in question had straight, silver hair that hung almost to her waist, a thin light blue tank top with spaghetti straps, a skirt the same color as her hair, blue stockings and shoes, and her apparent girlfriend's hand up her skirt, apparently returning the favor. Additionally, the silver-haired immortal's free hand was held behind her, inside of Valentine's skirt as Valentine was using her lips and tongue to work the immortal's neck.

"Wow," Jack said. "They're really just going to go at it right there in front of everyone, huh?"

"They're always like that," Q said. "That silver-haired one is April Showers, and the other is her...sort of girlfriend, May Flowers."

Jack nodded. "So which one are you in love with? April?"

Q chuckled humorlessly. "No no. I can see how much she and May care about each other. It's like a...deterrent to developing feelings for them."

"But, wait, I thought you said...oh," Jack fell silent as what Q was saying sunk in.

"Yeah," Q sighed. "I'm in love with Valentine. She truly _is_ my other half. I'm in love with her and she can't feel love at all. I'm wholly devoted to her, and she sleeps with whoever catches her fancy at the time, often more than one person. I'm emotional, she's physical."

"But, when you say opposite, you don't really mean, like, me and Heat, opposite, right?" Jack asked.

"Oh no, that's exactly what I mean," Q said. "She's my actual Other. When we first met, we argued about twenty minutes about which of our jobs was more important, then decided to simply share Valentines Day. And then...as time went on, we became...sort of like partners."

"And you fell in love with her," Jack said.

"Yes," Q nodded. "She knew, too. She told me one day that she was sorry for hurting me, but that she was incapable of love."

"I'm sorry," Jack said.

"Don't be," Q said. "Anyway, you came here looking for Tooth, right? She said she needed to get away from the party for a while, so she had Mother Nature fly her to the front door to try and sneak back in and find someplace to be alone."

Jack nodded and left the balcony, weaving his way through the party again. He reached the door without much trouble and left, beginning to search for her. After about thirty minutes, he finally found her in their room, staring out the window at the stars from where she sat on the bed, knees hugged to her chest. He walked over, sitting beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned against him, sighing comfortably, and he smiled, gently running his hand up and down over her arm, ruffling and smoothing her feathers over and over again.

"Tell me we're going to win," Tooth said.

"We're going to win," Jack said. "We really only have to kill Heat and Krampus. Pixie we can lock away, and Mother Earth really isn't any more of an annoyance than she ever was, in the grand scheme of things."

Tooth nodded. "I'm afraid. I keep worrying that we can't stop Heat, or that even if we do, you die."

"Tooth, I'm not going anywhere," Jack said. "I'm not leaving you. We'll beat Heat and the others, and then we'll be able to be together. Just the two of us and Baby Tooth."

Tooth smiled and nodded, leaning her head on his shoulder and sniffing, squeezing him slightly. Jack squeezed back, rocking slightly. After a moment, he lifted Tooth, turning her and setting her in his lap facing him, then gently pulling her back into a hug, returning to rocking, resting his chin on her shoulder. She sighed again and he smiled, tuning his head slightly, placing a gentle kiss on the side of her neck. She sighed again, tilting her head to the side and he smiled, kissing her neck again, then again. He trailed kisses up her neck slowly, hands moving down to gently trail up and down the outsides of her thighs. Finally, he reached her lips, Tooth letting out a shaky breath as she kissed him back, her tongue meeting his almost instantly.

Baby Tooth flew out of Jack's pocket and out the window instantly. Jack felt kind of bad for having forgotten she was sleeping in there, but was glad she had left, rather than interrupting again. His hands slid up higher, beginning to massage Tooth's rear. Tooth moaned softly, pressing herself into him as he lay back on the bed. She pressed herself tight against him, rolling her hips against his. He groaned into her mouth, pulling her tighter, then slid his hands up to her chest. She moaned as he began to knead her breasts, blushing and raising her torso enough to give his hands room. In doing so, she ended up angling her nethers just right to press against his growing erection more directly, making herself moan. Jack pulled back from her kiss, moving to kiss her neck. After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled, laying her on her back before pulling back, beginning to kiss his way down her neck again. She moaned softly, tilting her head out of the way. Jack smiled, taking a moment to pepper her neck in gentle kisses before moving down to her breasts, beginning to kiss and suckle every inch of them. After a moment, he found her nipple, flicking it several times with his tongue before wrapping his lips around it. Tooth moaned appreciatively, arching her chest toward him and he smiled, suckling a little harder, dragging his tongue over her nipple. After a moment, he released her nipple, blowing a loose feather out of his mouth.

"I'm sorry," Tooth said, Jack glancing up at her, seeing the shame in her eyes. "I...I wish I was more normal."

He moved up instantly, kissing her fiercely, Tooth letting out something that sounded between a moan and a whimper, kissing him back equally, hips pressing up against his.

"Don't ever wish to be different from what you are," Jack said, staring into her eyes, making Tooth blush just from the strength of his gaze. "Tooth, I love you exactly as you are. I will never want you to change."

"But...I'm so...unnatural," she said. "I'm a freak covered in feathers."

Jack shook his head, resting his forehead against hers. "You are perfect. I don't care that you have feathers. I love them. They're beautiful."

"But their not normal," Tooth said.

"So?" Jack asked. "I don't care about normal. I care about you. Feathers and all."

Tooth smiled, kissing him, and he slipped his tongue into her mouth, Tooth moaning as hers began to dance with his. As they battled for dominance, Jack's hands began to massage Tooth's breasts again for a moment before his right one began to slide down her body. She moaned as it reached the axis between her legs, fingers finding her slit easily and beginning to run up and down between her dripping wet lips. Tooth moaned loudly, hips rolling in time with his fingers and he pulled back, watching her face as he continued. Her back arched, her head tilting back as her eyes fluttered closed, a string of moans and mewling sounds beginning to roll out of her. He smiled, sliding down and using his free hand to separate her drenched, feathered outer lips, his right thumb moving to a small stiff nub of flesh about half the size of the tip of his pinky, one that made her cry out in pleasure and roll her hips more insistently when he began to rub small quick circles over it with his thumb. As he did, he leaned forward, trailing his tongue through her slit, Tooth gasping, then moaning again. He smiled, repeating the action again and again, reveling in the taste of her juices. It was sweet, like some kind of berries that he couldn't quite place. He lapped up more and more, Tooth's hips rolling against him. He began to experiment with changing the pattern his tongue was drawing, drawing snowflakes instead. Within a few seconds he noticed the difference, Tooth's moans becoming more breathless and desperate quickly, and her hips trembling and jerking more than rolling.

After a moment, Tooth's hips bucked just right for his tongue to slip into her entrance a little and she cried out in surprise and pleasure. Jack smiled, pushing his tongue deeper into her, as far as he could, and began to twist it, Tooth crying out appreciatively as he did. Then, just as he slipped his tongue back out, he gently pinched the bundle of nerves at the top of her slit and she cried out loudly, hips bucking frantically as juices began to spray out of her. Jack jerked his head back in surprise, the first wave of juices splattering over most of his face, before he realized what was happening and locked his lips around her entrance, quickly and greedily drinking her juices, continuing to gently pinch and toy with her clit as she came. Finally, she began to come down from her orgasm, hips jerking and trembling as he finally moved up, kissing her again. She moaned weakly as she tasted herself on his lips and tongue for a moment before he pulled away, laying beside her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to do that."

Jack chuckled, wiping her remaining juices off of his face and licking his fingers clean. "That was fun. Besides, it just means I know you weren't faking."

Tooth's face turned crimson, but she shook her head. "I wouldn't. I'd never lie to you."

Jack smiled, kissing her again. For a few moments, it was gentle, slow, and chaste. Then, Tooth's hands slipped under Jack's sweatshirt, trailing over his abdomen for a moment before lifting his sweatshirt. He sat up, pulling it and his shirt off and Tooth recaptured his lips, straddling his lap as her hands began to trace his muscles, their tongues battling for dominance again. He wrapped his arms around her, resting his hands on the small of her back and left them there, allowing Tooth to take her time tracing the contours of his upper body.

After a few minutes, she pulled back from the kiss, beginning to make her way down his body. She paused to kiss his nipple, as he had hers, before continuing. He had to admit that it was kind of weird having her lick his nipple. Not in a bad way, but it had felt different. Weird. Good, but different.

As Tooth began to near his pants, her kisses slowed and she unzipped his jeans, pulling back long enought to help him out of them, allowing his long-past excited prick to form an enormous tent in his boxers. However, as Tooth returned to kissing his abdomen, Jack caught her shoulder, Tooth looking up at him worriedly.

"Tooth, you don't have to do that," Jack said. "If you don't want to do...well, anything really, you don't have to."

Tooth smiled, trailing her hands up the front of his thighs. "I want to."

Then, she hooked her fingers in the waistband of his boxers and pulled it down enough to free his member, which bounced free happily, standing at attention like a Marine waiting for an inspection. Tooth stared at it for several seconds. Jack had never actually measured, and obviously had never compared, but he had always believed that he was probably not lucky enough to be anything above than a average, but the way Tooth was staring, some part of his brain began to hope that maybe he was wrong.

Tooth's hand slid over the front of his boxers and wrapped around his member, slowly stroking up and down it, Jack inhaling in a low hiss, tilting his head back and closing his eyes. Tooth's hand was soft and smooth and felt like heaven as it slowly, almost shyly, stroked his member. After a couple of minutes of it, Jack jumped as he felt sometbing warm and wet slide up the underside of his shaft.

Jack couldn't help the moan that slipped out, though he was able to keep it quiet, and after making certain Jack wasn't in pain, Tooth repeated the action, earning no more than a heavy exhale. Jack could practically feel her disappointed expression and internally smiled at the mental image of it. True to Jack's expectations, Tooth went to work even more, trying to draw a more rewarding noise from him, any noise. Her tongue bathed his member from base to head again and again, her hand working him quickly.

Withing a few seconds, Jack began to have to fight to stay quiet, wanting to mess with her, but also thoroughly enjoying her trying to make him be more vocal. His will broke, however, as her tongue expirimentally toyed with the opening, Tooth being rewarded with a loud groan. In response, her tonue began to focus on the head remaining there for several long seconds, and earning another moan for her efforts, before Jack's will snapped a little more when he felt her soft lips wrapp around his head, her tongue still working his tip relentlessly.

Her head descended a few inches and a loud groan rolled out of Jack as her felt the warm, wet insides of her mouth sliding against him, her tongue _still_ writhing against him relentlessly, this time along the underside of his shaft. Jack felt his body starting to move on its own, and fought to remain in control, sacrificing some of his silence for motor function control. Still, his hips rose despite his best efforts, not to thrust, but to wordlessly and unintentionally beg Tooth to go deeper, to take more of him in. And she complied without hesitation.

Her warm mouth slid lower on his member, until it began to tighten around his head, then drew back, Tooth sucking as she pulled back, only to stop as she descended again, bobbing her head along his member. If Jack had thought her hand was heaven, and her tongue was even better, no language existed to describe how her mouth felt. Each time she dropped her head, she managed to take a little more of him in until she finally began to bottom out, shifting down slightly to keep from bumping her nose against him.

Jack moaned loudly, hands fisting in the sheets to keep from grabbing Tooth's head. He didn't want to force her to do anything, and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, but even so, he wanted her to move faster. She was taking him in fully, and sending him spinning along cloud nine, but she was doing it slowly. It would still have the intended effect eventually, and it would probably be worth the build up, but in the mean time, it would drive him mad, and then after, if it really was worth the wait, he wouldn't have the energy left for anything else, and he really hoped there _was_ an else after this.

He looked down at Tooth and she seemed to understand, because she pulled back a second longer than the other times, taking a deep breath, then went to town. Jack almost instantly lost touch with the other four senses, but he's pretty sure his eyes actually rolled back in his head as she went from not moving to bouncing her head almost twice a second in the blink of an eye. And she was pressing upward with her tongue, making it feel tighter. And she was _humming_. He could feel her throat vibrating every time the head of his prick slid a little way into it. He was amazed she wasn't gagging, but that thought, like any others, only barely had time to register in his mind before being swept away.

After what couldn't have been more than a few seconds of this treatment, he groaned loudly, feeling his end approaching as slowly as a bullet train. Any second he'd snap and he didn't even have the control to warn Tooth. However, just as he was about to erupt, she suddenly froze, only the head of his member in her mouth and her tongue pulled back to not touch him. Jack looked down at her and saw her watching him with a mischeivous look in her eyes. Jack's stomach flipped and and electric buss washed over his skin as he realized she knew exactly what she was doing to him, and why. He knew what she wanted, and he was in no condition to refuse her.

"Tooth, please," he croaked, voice so thick his words were slurred.

Tooth seemed satisfied, because by the time he had finished speaking, she was continuing where she had left off. He groaned loudly but it turned into a moan after a moment as Tooth finally pushed him over the edge. He was disappointed he hadn't lasted longer, but blamed it entirely on Tooth being too good, He had never stood a chance of lasting a long time when she was doing that.

Tooth bobbed her head throughout, catching his essance in her mouth and swallowing it, the feeling of her swallowing, and her bobbing her head, milking him dry rapidly. Despite his best efforts, his hips jerked and bucked as he spun around and around cloud nine, but Tooth didn't seem to mind, continuing to work him until it finally ended, and he lay on the bed, struggling to get his bearings. When he had finally blinked the stars out of his eyes, Tooth was sitting up, straddling his hips with his still-erect member standing up against her abdomen, resting against her feathers, which tickled as they brushed against him in time with her breathing. She reached down, gently running the fingertips of one hand up the top of his shaft before laying forward, pressing against him, trapping his member, and kissing him. As he kissed her back, he was amazed that he couldn't taste his own juices, and kind of relieved. Tooth began to rock her hips slightly, sliding her slit along the underside of his shaft a few times before pulling back and raising herself up, lining him up with her entrance. He glanced up at her, seeing the hint of nervousness in her eyes, and reached out, taking her hands in his own.

"You don't have to," he said. "We can stop."

"I'm alright," she smiled. "You're my first. Please be gentle."

His eyes widened before he nodded. She smiled and nodded back before beginning to lower herself onto him. He inhaled slowly as her tunnel squeezed him on its way down, more and more of her slick warmth enveloping him. It was almost painfully tight, and when he was a handful of inches in, she paused as he reached a barrier. She took a deep breath but before she could force herself onto him, he rolled them over, kissing her to silence her inevitably question of what he was doing, then thrust into her, just hard enough to break through but not enough to cause any added pain. Still she screamed into his mouth, and he reached down, beginning to run his thumb over her clit lightly. She was tense, trembling, and tears leaked out of her eyes. He wiped them away, keeping himself motionless inside of her.

"In," she finally whimpered. "The rest of the way. Please."

He nodded, gently beginning to press into her, pausing any time her walls clenched, resisting him. When they did, he pulled out slightly, then slowly started back in, inching his way into her until he finally bottomed out. Tooth moaned as she felt his hips press against hers. She was still in pain, he could see it in her face, so he didn't move. However, after a few moments, she gently pushed up on his shoulder.

"I want to be on top," she said.

He rolled without question, letting her sit up. She was breathing heavily, and her face was contorted slightly in discomfort, but after a few seconds, she began to raise her hips, her tunnel making a wet sucking sound as it slid against him, Jack feeling like her tunnel was trying to suck him back in, even as she pulled up until only his head was still inside. Then, she began to settle back only him, Jack groaning loudly as her slick warmth pulled him back inside. She paused at the bottom, taking a couple of breaths before beginning to move again. She seemed to be getting over her discomfort the more times she let him out and took him back in, but Jack got the feeling she was still pushing herself for him. So, he slid his hand up her thigh until his thumb found her clit, rubbing it lightly and quickly. Tooth moaned weakly, hands pawing at his chest as she began to speed up slowly. He was glad she wasn't going full speed, because he was still on a bit shaky ground from her mouth.

After a few more minutes, she began to find a rhythm, moaning freely as she rode him in earnest. He wasn't able to stay quiet either, and his own moans joined hers as his hips thrust up into her. Her hips smacked against his each time she dropped, the sound muted somewhat by her feathers. His right hand remained where it was, thumb rubbing her clit, as his left slid up her body to her right breast, beginning to knead and massage it, fingers toying with her nipple. Tooth's moans began to grow more hoarse, more desperate. Her hips began to bounce more frantically, beginning to lose coordination and her face began to flush even more. Jack stared up at her, watching as she began to grow closer to the edge. He was getting close as well, but he was hoping maybe he could push her over first. And judging by her expression, he wasn't face off. He thrust up into her harder, Tooth gasping as she lost her balance, hands snapping up and catching the headboard, bracing against it as she continued to bounce against him, Jack thrusting up into her more forcefully now that she wasn't going to lose her balance again. His thumb began to rub her clit faster, and her moans rapidly began to grow into cries.

"Oh my god!" she cried out as her hips bucked, insides beginning to quiver. "Jack! Oh my god! Yes! Don't stop!"

He moved his left hand to her hips, pulling her down into him each time he thrust upward. Her cries began to grow even more, and he felt his own rope starting to run out more quickly. He tried to fight it off. He was so close to making her finish. He just had to hold out a little more. But the more he tried to hold out, the faster he began to run out of rope.

"Tooth," he finally grunted. "I can't...hold out."

"Me too!" Tooth cried out. "Cum with me!"

His eyes widened a little at her sudden lack of a filter or shame, but he couldn't deny her request. Especially since the moment she bucked and clamped down on him, he snapped, his seed flooding into her as her hips slammed tight against his, rolling against him as her insides spasmed and squeezed, milking him and forcing wave after wave of semen to flood out of his member, filling her to overflowing. Finally, they were both spent, Tooth gently laying down on his chest, both panting and holding each other, basking in the afterglow. After another minute, he pulled the blankets up over them, Tooth smiling and kissing the side of his neck.

"I love you Jack," Tooth smiled.

"I love you too," Jack smiled, holding her a little tighter. "And I always will."

She nodded. "Me too. Always."

Jack smiled, pressing a light kiss to her forehead before setting his head back down. Then, he gently trailed his hand up and down her back as she drifted off. He closed his eyes, listening to her soft breathing, and feeling her heart beating against him, allowing the warm embrace of sleep to overtake him.

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